


Magician's Misery

by arizonia1



Series: The "Chuckster" Universe [7]
Category: F-Zero (Video Games), Fire Emblem Series, HuniePop (Video Game), Persona 4, Super Mario Bros., Super Smash Brothers, Xenoblade Chronicles, どうぶつの森 | Animal Crossing Series, 新・光神話 パルテナの鏡 | Kid Icarus: Uprising (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Audrey is a Bitch, Bittersweet Ending, Blood and Gore, Captain Falcon is a dick, Cockblocking, Crossdressing, Diverting From Traditional Smash Battles, Dramedy, Dubious Consent, F/M, Forced Labor, Hot Springs & Onsen, Interdimensional Travel, Loosing a Tooth, Lots of backstory, Love Triangles, M/M, Noodle Incidents, Persona 4 Spoilers, Pit is an Ass, Reasoning with the Enemy, Robin is Unhelpful, Romantic Reuinion, Shadow Battle, Shadows (Persona 4), Things Going From Bad to Worse, Visions, Yu doesn't have straight priorities, bad memories, nekoatsume
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-05-21 22:04:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6059719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arizonia1/pseuds/arizonia1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a very poor turn of events in Magatsu Mandala, the Investigation Team is forced to return to Inaba. Though, much like the dungeon itself, they are forced to take a “detour” before finally returning home. That is, if everyone can regroup and keep it together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Reversed Fool

**Author's Note:**

> Please do mind the tags, as some will only apply in later chapters, and are there as a warning.
> 
> This is a story that takes place at a very odd point in terms of timelines. As at this point Persona 4 is getting close to it’s ending it’s early December while in the Smash Realm it’s mid-July.
> 
> Also, assume this is a max Social Link type run as all of the team other than the Protagonist will have their Ultimate Persona. By the way, I will be calling the Protagonist “Yu Narukami” as per the fact I got used to that name first instead of “Souji Seta”, sorry to all of you that prefer the other name D:
> 
> Also, Persona 4 spoiler warning for December 5th and beyond.

_Magician’s Misery_  
  
  
  
**December 9th, 2011**

  
  
_“Izanagi!”_   
  
With a resounding crack of thunder the Shadows in the way of the Investigation Team were eliminated. Yu was congratulated by his teammates as he urged them forward. They had just entered Magatsu Mandala and it was imperative they climb as many floors as they could, as fast as they could. It was their highest priority as Adachi has to be stopped.   
  
**“Remember to try and keep your energy up guys!”** Rise warns as she continues to give support from the entrance of the dungeon, away from the immediate danger.   
  
“Thanks Rise-chan! We’ll try our best. Right partner?” Yosuke comments with a cheeky smile as he looks at Yu.   
  
His friend merely nodded as he switched his Persona once more in preparation. He motions the team forward. Yosuke and himself in the front, Chie, Teddie and Yukiko in the middle, and Naoto and Kanji providing support from the back.   
  
It took a lot of time and convincing to reach this place to go after Adachi. Now there’s no turning back. The group slowly ascends through the dungeon, having to take a detour through Magatsu Mandala just to continue through Magatsu Inaba. The floors were just filled to the brim with Shadows, so it was doubtful the group would reach the end of this place in only one day.   
  
Soon Yu rounded a corner on the second floor of the dungeon and spotted a treasure box. He quietly told Yosuke and the others to keep an eye out for Shadows while he checked it out. Rise gave him fair warning something may be on the box itself other than treasure. Keeping the warning in mind Yu slowly lifted the latch of the box, gripping the handle of his katana even tighter than before.   
  
Everyone turned around in shock when Yu suddenly screamed. Yosuke was the first to get there and nearly ended up fainting seeing what came out of the box. It was a large Shadow. In its hands, two long-barreled revolvers, and chains surrounding its body.   
  
“W-w-what the hell is that thing!?” Kanji stuttered as he stood in front of Naoto protectively.   
  
Rise interjected once she got a good look at the monster. **“You guys shouldn’t fight that one! It’s too strong! Get back here!”**   
  
Everyone nodded their head in agreement. Being the coward that he is, Teddie is already leading the charge back down to the first floor. Kanji merely picked up Naoto in his arm and bolted, and Yukiko and Chie were right behind him. Yosuke was the last to go as he helped Yu get back on his feet before they started following the others.   
  
The escape was almost impossible given the Reaper was able to keep up with everyone. As they were in the back Yu and Yosuke were trying to keep the monster back as best they could. It was difficult though as their attacks were near ineffective as they continued running. Yosuke would end up getting knocked down by a well timed Maziodyne with the Reaper hot on his heals. He started screaming in terror as he tried to back away before Yu grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him out of the way as the monster lowered one of its revolvers to take out the teen while he was down. 

* * *

  
Not taking the time to rest anymore as they rounded corners, eventually the Investigation Team reached the first floor of Magatsu Inaba and out of the way of the Reaper. The group ended up nearly tumbling out of the dungeon’s entrance right in front of Rise. She immediately showed concern seeing just how out of breath everyone was, save for Naoto as she didn’t do any running at all.   
  
Yukiko is the first to speak as everyone catches their breath. “Should we go ahead and go back to Junes? We all look pretty exhausted.”   
  
“I agree with Yukiko, we should head back, I’m beat.” Chie agrees. “We made some decent progress and it’s not like we’ll have to start over when we get back.”   
  
Yu nods silently as he and Yosuke look at each other to check for serious injuries. The rest of the team also agrees that they should head back for the day. The walk back is very short thankfully as the Desolate Bedroom was very close to the entrance of the Midnight Channel.

* * *

  
The walk back was a fairly quiet one, the only noise being the sound of everyone’s shoes on the ground. Soon enough the exit was in sight and the group picked up the pace. Rise was the first to notice something seemed off about the TVs. There was some distorted pictures showing up on the screens.   
  
“Senpai?” Rise starts, looking at Yu. “Do you think we shouldn’t go through those TVs?”   
  
The leader takes a good look at the exit. “They do look a little off, but it should be ok. They are our only exit regardless.”   
  
Teddie seemed just as concerned as Rise. Even if they had tried to convince everyone to stay, even for a little while, there would have been protesting. Starting with Yu, everyone started crawling into the exit one by one. Yosuke and Teddie were the last ones to go through after making sure everyone else managed to squeeze in.

* * *

**  
July 16th, 2015  
  
** The transfer back through the TV seemed like it was taking longer than usual. In addition, the portal looked like it was twisting and turning as the group passed through. Maybe the TV in Junes got moved and the exit was trying to accommodate. That was the excuse Teddie tried to use when Yosuke asked while they were still going through the exit. It wouldn’t matter though as the end of the tunnel was coming up fast. With the end of the tunnel, the other side. Yosuke braced himself for the impact as the exit was never smooth. It ended up helping to as when he and Teddie reached the exit window…   
  
_Crash._   
  
The teen and bear ended up tumbling out of a TV on the other side of the Midnight Channel and into a nearby couch. Teddie nearly ended up having his human form pop out of the costume upon impact and Yosuke was just lucky he didn’t break anything.   
  
“I think I landed on my wallet again…” Yosuke mumbled as he realized he was upside down seeing his feet above him. “You ok Ted?”   
  
Teddie whined as he flailed on the floor on his back. “I think I’m ok. My beary behind doesn’t have anything to hurt! Except maybe my pride.”   
  
“You’ll live.”   
  
With the initial shock of being ejected like that gone Yosuke turned over so he could stand up. He asked Yu if he was ok but stopped when he realized he didn’t get an answer. The teen started looking around, calling out for Yu, Chie, anyone that had been with him before. Panic quickly set in when he realized his friends were nowhere to be found and he drug out his phone. He typed in Yu’s number as fast as he could and only worried more when the call wouldn’t go through. Trying Chie’s next, he got the same result, and the same for Kanji.   
  
Teddie stood up finally to try and calm down Yosuke when he saw him panicking over not being able to reach his friends. When that failed he looked over at the TV they just came out of and yelped. The screen was almost completely shattered. The only part still intact was the upper right corner. He ended up screaming in surprise, the outburst also getting Yosuke’s attention.   
  
“Shit!” Yosuke cursed seeing the state of the TV. “If that TV is the only one here that connects to that specific area of the Midnight Channel we’re so screwed!”   
  
“Speaking of ‘here’.” Teddie adds looking around the area and smelling the surroundings. “Where is ‘here’?”   
  
The brunette joined his friend in looking around. Wherever they ended up landing, it certainly wasn’t Junes. It looked like they were in some sort of building. A house? Perhaps a hotel considering they landed in what looks to be a lounge or game room. Based on the decor, the duo weren’t in Inaba at all, much less Japan. Yosuke surveyed the immediate surrounds before spotting both the door out and a nearby closet door.   
  
“Teddie take off the suit.” He commanded as he walked to the closet and opened the door. It looked like there would be enough space for it in there. “Wherever we are, having a talking bear would not be a good idea.”   
  
Teddie nodded as he popped the head off the costume. Inside was a stunningly handsome, blond haired, blue eyed boy that was just barely over five feet tall. He shook his head to get his bangs to fall back into place before jumping out of the main body of his suit. The boy hugged his head before assisting Yosuke in putting the suit away in the closet. It’s better to have people questioning a white kid hanging out with a Japanese teenager compared to a talking bear.   
  
Stepping out of the room into the hallway Yosuke made sure the coast was clear. The last thing they needed was for someone to see them stepping out of the room with the broken TV. Motioning for Teddie to follow him he started down the hall with his phone out, hoping to grab a signal. Wifi would be good too, then he could send an email, but he wasn’t getting a prompt for a network.   
  
“What kind of hotel, or whatever this place is, does not have a wifi signal?” The teen asked himself as he fiddled with the settings.   
  
Teddie merely shrugged as he started sniffing the air out of habit. He could pick up the scent of something coming their way, but it wasn’t at all familiar. It also wasn’t human in the slightest. The blond closed his eyes as he kept walking and only opened them when he heard Yosuke grunt next to him and the sound of a phone hitting the floor resounded next to him.   
  
Sprawled out on the floor before both members of the Investigation Team was another blond. His hair was slightly wavy but disheveled, he was wearing a short sleeved, grey turtleneck, and a pair of shorts with intricate designs, and on his back was an impressive looking red sword. He looked up to see who he ran into and it revealed he had sky blue eyes with a pair of black-framed glasses resting on his nose. There looked to be minor scars around his eyes as well. He stood up quickly to apologize for running into Yosuke as he offered his hand.   
  
“I’m terribly sorry.” He says with a thick accent, English if Yosuke knew what it was. “I should learn not to read while walking.”   
  
Yosuke tried to laugh it off. “It’s okay, I was more concerned with my phone. Are you ok? ”   
  
“Me? Oh, yes I am. I don’t believe we’ve met before. My name is Shulk, may I ask yours?”   
  
“Hanamura Yosuke.” The brunette replied as he shook Shulk’s hand. “And this is Teddie, he’s a friend of mine.”   
  
Teddie lifted one of his hands in the air. “It’s so beary nice to meet you!”   
  
Shulk smiled gently and adjusted his glasses. He asked the two what they were doing at ‘Smash Mansion’ out of curiosity. Yosuke stutters a bit as he tries to come up with an answer. He half-asses one saying he and Teddie were on business, just to avoid talking about the Midnight Channel. Not just because he didn’t think Shulk would believe him about him and Teddie literally flying out of a TV, but also so he didn’t have to explain that by flying out of said TV it broke.   
  
Tilting his head and placing a hand to his chin Shulk mulls over what he has been told. He figures that if Yosuke and Teddie are here on ‘business’, perhaps they want to have a talk with Master Hand about becoming fighters or new Assists. The blond suddenly grips the handle of his sword and soon he is engulfed in a blue light, especially prominent at his ankles. Grabbing the duo by their wrists he starts running down the hallway in the opposite direction Teddie and Yosuke were originally going. 

* * *

  
Seeing as how the path from the Midnight Channel back to the real world was twisting and turning like mad Yu’s first instinct was to protectively grab the closest person he could reach. That person for him was Yukiko and he pulled her close to his chest as the exit was approaching fast. He braced for impact and swore under his breath when he heard glass shatter and some of it dug into his skin.   
  
Yu and Yukiko tumbled out of the TV as the broken glass of the screen rained upon them. Most of it bounced harmlessly away, but only what didn’t only make contact with Yu. He slowly released his friend and stood up to see what happened. Carefully sitting up Yukiko asked what happened but was met with silence. She turned her head to see the TV that just ejected the two of them was broken, the screen beyond repair and sparking.   
  
“We… should probably leave it be.” Yu said quietly as he offered his hand to Yukiko.   
  
She nodded as she looked around. “It looks like we’re in Junes, but I can see that it’s not at the same time. Where are we?”   
  
“Probably a mall if I had to guess. We should get going before someone walks by.”   
  
Looking around quickly the taller of the two managed to spot an exit not too far away from where they were. He urged Yukiko to act calmly as so they don’t arouse too much suspicion. She nodded in acknowledgement and they headed for the exit. Seeing what was just beyond there only confirmed Yu’s thoughts about them landing in a mall.   
  
“I just realized I didn’t see Chie or anyone else when we landed.” Yukiko mentioned as she looked around the immediate area. “Do you think they landed somewhere else?”   
  
“Possibly. Can’t rule it out.”   
  
Yu figured he should try and text Yosuke first. Digging into his back pocket he fished his phone out and flipped it open. A light curse was uttered seeing the upper left corner got cracked from landing on it. Ignoring it otherwise he opened up his texts and started writing one to his partner. Yukiko was doing the same for Chie in the meanwhile to make sure she was ok.   
  
“No signal?” Yu mumbled when his phone gave him an error when he hit ‘send’.   
  
Yukiko looked at her friend after getting the same message. “That’s odd, do you think we’re in just a different part of the Midnight Channel? I know our phones don’t work there.”   
  
Realizing he never took off his glasses, the taller teen decided to do so to test if there was fog. Not only was there no fog anywhere, but the world seemed much livelier than Inaba. Clearly the two of them landed in a bustling city. No one seemed to pay the two any mind and merely continued on with their day like most people in the city. Carefully Yu closed his phone and placed it back in his pocket.   
  
“I think we need to find someplace with a phone, or internet.” Yu says calmly as he starts walking towards the center court of the mall, Yukiko following behind in agreement. 

* * *

  
A loud crash could be heard from the inside of an electronics store. The alarm started sounding as two teenagers were found just outside the front window. Broken glass was scattered around them and the TV that was once behind a window was broken beyond repair. People were gathered around looking at the teens sprawled out on the ground.   
  
Kanji was the first to start getting up and look at the crowd. “Why the hell are these people staring at us?”   
  
“Oh… ergh…” Chie muttered as she stood up and looked around as well. She turned around and looked at the TV she and Kanji flew out of. “Uh… Kanji-kun… I think we should run away.”   
  
A few of the people around them were on their phone. No doubt the police were being called. Quickly Chie and Kanji started running off. The older of the two was able to figure out quickly that the area they’re in is definitely _not_ Inaba, or even Okina City. Although, they couldn’t really stop to admire the cityscape as the sound of sirens started blaring behind them.   
  
“Shit! We’re going to have to hide somewhere!” Chie shouts as she rounds a street corner.   
  
Kanji growled as he attempts to keep up. “We’re in broad daylight! Where the hell are we supposed to go!?”   
  
“I don’t know! Just keep running!” 

* * *

  
It seemed like an eternity before the police stopped chasing after Chie and Kanji. Based on all the commotion it was a surprise the military wasn’t called for the suspected ‘attempted robbery’. The police sent out patrol cars, motorcycles, dogs, and at there was one point an officer was calling for a helicopter. It was pure insanity in this city.   
  
Thankfully the cops ceased their chase after they lost the duo in a huge crowd. Chie and Kanji eventually walked towards a nearby gas station to get something to drink and rest for a bit. No one in the store seemed to have recognized them, or if they did they weren’t bothered to call the police. They each grab a bottle to drink, only by recognizing brands, and Kanji grabs himself a box of animal crackers for the road. Quickly they check out and head to one of the benches right outside to take a rest.   
  
Chie takes a swig of her soda before realizing she hadn’t seen anyone while they were running. “I should probably call Yukiko and see if she’s ok.” She drug out her phone and frowned. “Darn, it died. Kanji-kun, may I borrow yours?”   
  
“Eh?” Kanji asked as he bit the head off a penguin cracker. “Oh, yeah. Go ahead.”   
  
“Thank you.” The girl thanked as she flipped the device open and typed a message to her best friend, but received an error when she attempted to send it. “Huh? There’s no signal out here. Maybe they don’t have your provider in this city.”   
  
“Figures.” The boy replied with a mouth full of crackers as he took a swing of his juice to wash it down. “We don’t even know where the hell we are.”   
  
“Regardless, it looks like it’s getting late. We should probably find a hotel or something. We can share a room.” 

* * *

  
Rise had fallen into a panic when she realized the path through the TV was leading her and Naoto away from their original destination. They didn’t have time to make sure everyone else was ok though as the exit was coming up quick. Both girl braced for impact and were met with a resounding crash as they went flying out of the TV. Thankfully their fall was cushioned by a bed right in front of the now broken television.   
  
Naoto sat up and adjusted her hat before looking at the damage. “Well. I doubt we’ll be able to get back through there.”   
  
“What about senpai and the others!?” Rise shouted as she hopped off the bed to look at the broken piece of electronic. “Where are we anyway!?”   
  
The detective looked around a bit before walking to a close by window. “Judging by the view, and layout of the room. I deduce that we landed in some beachside hotel. Wherever we are, it’s not Inaba or the surrounding area.”   
  
Rise sighed as she pulled out her phone to try and text Yu and the others. She pouted though when her phone only gave her an error saying there was no signal. Naoto’s phone had been on the verge of dying earlier so her’s was off to save the battery, making it useless. Figuring it would be best to get out of the room before housekeeping found them, Naoto started leading Rise out into the main hallway of the hotel.   
  
“We’ll have to take a back entrance as to keep the lobby staff from questioning our presence.” Naoto whispered as she grabbed the brim of her hat.   
  
The pop idol agreed with her friend and they both turned to go down the stairwell near the end of the hall. That should lead to a rear entrance. Once they get outside the building, Naoto mentioned that it would be best if they just checked in for the evening as it was getting late. Rise nodded in agreement and openly hoped that the hotel would accept yen. Thankfully, no one saw the two leave the building just to walk around to the front to the lobby. 

* * *

  
Yosuke gulped as he and Teddie were led to a pair of elegantly designed doors by Shulk. He didn’t even have a chance to register the surroundings around him as the teen had been moving so fast. Then again, he nearly fell flat on his face when they finally came to a stop due to the sudden loss of momentum.   
  
“Here we are.” Shulk mentioned with a cheerful smile. “Master Hand is just on the other side of these doors. I’ll be out here for when you finish talking with him.”   
  
_“Master… Hand? Like the Smash Bros. boss?”_ Yosuke thought to himself briefly.   
  
Pushing the thought from his head, the teen pushed open the door tentatively. Cautiously he and Teddie peeked their heads inside and were met with what looked like an office. The desk had two chairs set in front of it and behind it was a chairman’s seat turned away from them. Yosuke was the first to enter the room followed by Teddie.   
  
A voice spoke up, coming from the chair behind the desk. “Welcome to my Domain. Please, have a seat.”   
  
The duo followed the instruction without a word. Once they were situated the person in the chairman’s seat turned around. He looked to be some sort of a butler-type of person. He was dressed the part at least. His hair a fiery red color and his eyes gold, not at all unlike a Shadow. Curiously, he was wearing only one glove on his right hand.   
  
_“I hope this guy’s name isn’t Sebastian, or else I might scream.”_ Yosuke continued to think as he got a good look at this guy.   
  
“I am Master Desmond Hand.” The man states simply, introducing himself. “And you are…” He seemed to have hesitated slightly as he looked the two in front of him. His eyes scanned over both before speaking once more. “Yosuke and Teddie Hanamura. Quite an unexpected surprise for you two to be in my realm.”   
  
The brunette froze, not so much the fact this man knew his name as much as how he addressed Teddie as if they were related. “Now hold on! The bear isn’t related to me!”   
  
Teddie could be seen pouting off to the side. “B-but… I live in your closet… and your parents like me… aren’t I like family to you?”   
  
“Can it Ted.”   
  
Desmond chuckled at the minor bickering. “My apologies. The Smashers do know that I tend to make crude jokes of that nature. Regardless, may I ask how you even got here Master Hanamura? Don’t you dare lie either.”   
  
A slight gulp. “This… may sound totally insane but… Teddie and I came flying out of your TV. We were trying to go back to _our_ world but something went crazy.”   
  
“We were attacked by some grizzly in my world and Sensei and the others were forced to retreat.” Teddie added as he looked at the floor. “The exit from my world to the human world must have gotten damaged for this to have happened.”   
  
“Now, we’re stuck here as the TV we came flying out of broke when we went through it.” Yosuke added as he scratched his neck. “That, and we’ve been separated from Yu, Chie, Yukiko-san, and the rest of our friends. Look Hand-sama, we just want to get back to Inaba.”   
  
Master Hand leaned back in his chair once the boys finished their story. “I would enjoy helping you return to your world, and reunite with your friends. However, there is a problem. Your exit from my realm has been destroyed, and I can tell you right now your world has no other direct connection here.”   
  
“Are you saying we’re trapped!?” The teen snapped as he slammed his hands on the desk in front of him.   
  
“Refrain from shouting Master Hanamura. I never said that. It will take time, but setting up a link between the Smash Realm and this ‘Inaba’ would not be too difficult. In the meanwhile, you will have to remain as guests here in my Mansion.”   
  
The two boys looked at each other with worry. They didn’t know how long they were going to be stuck here. Could be a couple days. Could be a month. Either way they weren’t exactly looking forward to the idea. Desmond assured them the process would not take any longer than a week at most.   
  
Nodding hesitantly Yosuke agreed to the idea of him and Teddie staying at the manor until everything was setup to return home. Though, there was a few stipulations with their stay. They were basically to remain under house arrest, they were not allowed to leave the grounds of Smash Mansion for any reason, they were barred from entering any Smash fights, and Yosuke is expected to pay for a replacement TV to make up for the one that was broken. That would have been well and good if it was a cheap one, but that was far from being the case. The replacement was going to cost about six hundred dollars. Or the approximate of seventy _thousand_ yen.   
  
Yosuke sputtered seeing the total after doing some conversions on his phone. “What the fuck!? That’s more than what I make in three weeks!”   
  
“You’ll just have to work it off here in the Mansion then Master Hanamura.” Desmond chuckled seeing the distress on the teen’s face. “I assure you my Smashers would love to ask you to do favors for them. They’re always so busy training and fighting that other things get swept under the rug unless they can pay someone else to do it.”   
  
The teen sighed in defeat. There apparently was no way for him to talk his way out of this one. Master Hand did take some pity on him though and said that everything else would be free during their stay. Yosuke and Teddie accepted the offer but the former brought up another concern he had aside from paying for the TV. He mentioned that his cell had no reception and he couldn’t get a hold of Yu or the others. Sadly though there was nothing Desmond could do until the connection to Inaba itself was set up properly. The reason for that is because the duo, as well as their friends, are considered anomalies in the realm. This status prevents their technology to function normally, though there are certain loopholes with phones.   
  
Deciding there was nothing more to discuss, Desmond opened a drawer in his desk and handed the boys two keys. “Those are the keys to your room while you stay here. It’s on the fifth floor. Master Shulk can direct you there.”   
  
Yosuke took the keys in his hand and gave one to Teddie. Standing up to leave, the brunette made sure to bow in thanks before exiting the room with his friend. Shulk was still outside the room, his nose buried in his book once more. The teen didn’t question him as it made sense for him to pass the time like that. It reminded him of Yu in a way.   
  
“Are you all finished?” Shulk asked when he heard the door close.   
  
Yosuke nodded. “Yeah. He gave Teddie and I some keys, saying our room is on the fifth floor or something.”   
  
“Oh, that would be the guest room. Er… one of them.” The blond gestured to the key and asked to see it. He inspected the number on it for a second before nodded. “Ok, I know where that one it. That’s next to Chrom’s room.”

* * *

  
It didn’t take very long for Shulk to lead the guests to their room. On the way they passed by many of the other Smashers. Some, like Mario, Pit, and Toon Link were very friendly and greeted the boys, while others, like Samus, Zelda, and Ganondorf, merely gave them odd looks. Yosuke didn’t really pay much mind to everyone’s reactions towards him and Teddie as much as it finally dawning on him where he was. Quite literally he was walking around in the world of Super Smash Brothers. He didn’t put it together at first because he barely recognized Shulk from one of the games he started a while ago, and just thought Master Hand’s name was a coincidence.   
  
Upon reaching the door that would house their room for the next week both Teddie and Yosuke clutched their heads as they were stuck by a sudden headache. Shulk showed immediate concern.   
  
“Hanamura, Teddie are you two ok?” He asked as he watched the taller of the two stand back up as he recovered.   
  
“Y-yeah… I think so.” Yosuke muttered as he pressed the key into its lock and pushed the door open. “Hey… Shulk-san?”   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“I hate to seem like a bother with this, but Ted and I don’t have any spare clothes with us. Do you mind going to find something for us to wear for the night? I’ll wash them later.”   
  
The blond smiled as he accepted the idea. He said the two should try and get comfortable for their headaches to go away while he goes rummaging for spare pajamas. Promptly he left the two alone and briefly mentioning someone named ‘Robin’ possibly having something that would fit Teddie.   
  
Yosuke sighed as he closed the door and flopped onto the bed closer to the door. The headache was absolutely killing him but he couldn’t figure out its cause at the moment. He asked if Teddie was feeling the same thing and his only response was the sound of the boy rolling on the floor mumbling to himself. That was a very good sign that both were stuck with this headache.   
  
“Man… I hope Yu and the others are faring better than this… nothing good ever happens to me…” Yosuke muttered to himself as he buried his head in the pillow. This is going to be a _long_ week. **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. In case it didn't seem really clear at first, this is a Yosuke centric story as to introduce the Persona cast into my Smash Universe. Much of the story will focus on what's going on with him. There will be brief moments where I go back to the other members of the IT though
> 
> 2\. Shulk has the glasses and scars because this takes place less than a week after the incident of "Turning an Eye Blind", so he still can't really see without glasses


	2. Reversed Judgement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very dialogue heavy chapter. I apologize ahead of time!

**July 17th, 2015**  
  
It was early morning of the second day and Yu and Yukiko have left the hotel for the day. They didn’t check out because they didn’t know where anyone else was at this time. While trying to determine where the rest of their team could have landed, Yu had lead the duo towards a quaint little coffee shop not far from their hotel. After all, it would be a bad idea to wander too far from there in a new city. The taller may have experience navigating cityscapes, but he’d rather do that on his own than risk losing Yukiko.  
  
The café was a decent little place, right off the main boulevard. There wasn’t many customers, a black woman in a stewardess uniform and what looked to be a blond-haired student being the most notable, but on the flipside there’s only one worker right now, a girl with blue hair and glasses. She looked totally annoyed with her job, even if she wasn’t doing anything at the time. Her greeting to Yu and Yukiko was totally sarcastic and she didn’t even bother looking up from her phone.  
  
“E-excuse me.” Yukiko said quietly. “Do you have an internet connection here?”  
  
The girl clicked her tongue as she drug out a piece of paper from under the register and glared at the raven haired girl. “Here. There’s the credentials to get in. Now, are you going to order something or just stand there?”  
  
Yu smiled gently and ordered a latte and one of the larger pastries to share with Yukiko. Thankfully it didn’t cost too much as he was running low on cash again like he had over the summer. They both thanked the barista, despite her obvious rudeness, and walked outside to the patio to eat. The weather was really nice so Yu figured it would be best to get some sunlight while it lasted. The forecast said the weather might get rainy later this week.  
  
While the boy sipped on his coffee Yukiko was busy typing in the code to the wifi on her phone. She was grateful she had convinced her mother to let her get one of those fancy new touch phones from Junes for her birthday. It proved to be quite useful as it was easier to send an email from it, even if there wasn’t a really good cell signal.  
  
“Who should I email? I have most everyone’s information.” Yukiko asked as she took a small piece off the coffee cake in front of her.  
  
Yu stopped to think for a second. “You should try and get a hold of Chie-san, Naoto-chan, and Rise-chan. I can worry about Yosuke and Kanji-kun.”  
  
The girl nodded as she started sending a mass email to the three people Yu named off before handing her phone over. He furrowed his brows though realizing she didn’t have his email carrier on the phone. Politely he asked if he could download it onto her phone and got an ok from Yukiko. However, something caught his eye when he went into the app store. There was an advertisement for this ‘popular’ game called ‘NekoAtsume’. Figuring it wouldn’t matter when he sent the message, the leader let himself get distracted by the prospect of taking care of virtual cats.

* * *

  
At the Smash Mansion itself Yosuke was starting the day off in the training room with Little Mac, Miss Fit, and Ryu for their morning routine. All three offered a small bit of cash in return of him acting as a sparring partner. Seemed easy enough, but it was far from the case. The teen had forgotten that he was in the Smash Brothers realm and, even though he claimed to be, Mac is far from being an ordinary human. This was even more obvious when Yosuke got a hard uppercut to the chin.  
  
“Mac-senshu!” The Japanese teen protested as he held his jaw. “I thought you said you’d take it easy damn it! Owowowow…”  
  
Mac scratched the back of his head with his glove. “Sorry man. I guess my definition of ‘take it easy’ and your definition are a tad different.”  
  
“No shit.” Yosuke protested as he walked to the trash can to spit out a little blood. He groaned when he spit out a little more and heard something clang against the metal container. “Fuck, you knocked a tooth loose.”  
  
“Sorry.” The boxer whispered as he looked at the ground.  
  
Mac watched as his sparring partner reached into the trash to pick up his missing tooth. He was a little confused as to why at first. Then it became clear the teen was trying to figure out which one got knocked out. His jaw must be in too much pain for him to want to have his tongue figure it out.  
  
“Which one was it?”  
  
Yosuke groaned as he traced his finger in his mouth and compared it to the tooth in his hand. “The one right behind the canine. Right on top too. Fuck.”  
  
Angrily the teen slammed the tiny bone back into the waste basket. Well, he’ll have to just get creative when explaining how he knocked out a tooth to his parents. Turning back to the boxer he was less than pleased to see that odd glare he was getting from Miss Fit.  
  
“You claim to be very agile.” She says sternly as she does a light stretch. “Yet you did not dodge out of the way.”  
  
“Look Fit-san, I’m supposed to _spar_ with him. I figured that Mac-senshu would have pulled the punch a little more. Besides, I was trying to block instead.”  
  
“Well, that’s enough for today.” The instructor continues. “Make your way to the infirmary and get some ice before that gets infected. Take the tooth with you.”  
  
“Already in the trash, lady.” Yosuke complains as he walks out, holding his jaw carefully.  
  
After the teen left Mac undid his boxing gloves and took them off. He was surprised that even that ‘weak’ uppercut was enough to knock out a tooth. Something told him if he hadn’t held back he would have done more than just that. Then again, most humans like Yosuke should have gotten a broken jaw from an uppercut like that anyway. Just what is he made of that made the worst he got out of this was just a missing tooth? There was something the teen wasn’t telling people.  
  


* * *

  
After spending a little bit of time at the infirmary and sucking on about five ice cubes Yosuke finally meandered outside to the back courtyard of the Mansion. He pulls uncomfortably at the collar of the tank top he borrowed from Mac. How did Kanji stand to wear such tight shirts during the summer? Regardless, his current state of dress was the least of his concerns since it was summer in the Smash realm after all. His main concern was finding someone else in this madhouse that is willing to pay him for whatever reason to do something for them. It was still mid-morning so most of the children were still running around playing while the adults were fighting.  
  
After spending a few minutes wandering around the teen came across the eight Villager children. Amongst the Smashers they were known as the local delivery people. Taking packages to and from people was their main source of bartering in the manor, it also gave them a little bit of cash. Today was a really busy day for the octet though. Seeing Yosuke wandering around aimlessly gave them all an idea.  
  
Rosie was the first one to step up to the brunette and pull gently at his shorts. “Excuse me sir. Can you help us?” She asked gently as she held up a rectangular package wrapped with a yellow ribbon.  
  
“Sure, I’m willing to do most anything.” He replied as the rest of the Villagers walked up as well. “Can I ask your names though?”  
  
“Of course!” Rosie started pointing at the rest of her companions in order. “I’m Rosie, that’s Irish, Max, Josh, Dawn, Nessie, and Eddy.”  
  
“And your friend in the red shirt?”  
  
Axel merely responded with that evil glint in his eye as he held up his axe and swiped his thumb against his neck.  
  
“… Yandere-kun, got it.” Yosuke responded hesitantly. “So, what is it you need me to do?  
  
Irish was the next to speak. “You see, we’re the ones that usually deliver packages around here. But we’ve been swamped with deliveries and it’s a little much, even for the eight of us. We wanted to know if you’d help us by delivering some of the packages to the people that are usually outside in the morning.”  
  
“Well, I don’t know my way around here quite yet so I’m not sure.” The teen responded as he scratched the back of his head. Shulk had mentioned last night that even navigating the courtyards can get confusing to newcomers. “I guess I can try though.”  
  
Josh winked and gave a thumbs up. “It means a lot dude! Max and Dawn are the slowest ones so we have to make up for them. Having an extra set of hands comes in handy.”  
  
“I’ll… yaaaaaawn… give you the map I drew…” Dawn responded quietly as she tried not to doze off, her eyelids heavy as she dug in her dress pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. “It’s just the… yaaawn… outside of the manor though.”  
  
Yosuke took the paper and looked it over. Despite the appearance of the Villager, the map was really well drawn and detailed. He’d probably be able to get around without getting lost with this. Besides the courtyard he’s standing in there’s not too many places on the outside anyway. According to the map there’s just the Zen Garden, the garage, and the Mr. Saturn Hot Spring. That last one being kept in mind for later as well.  
  
“All right!” Rosie declares as she, Max, and Irish hand off about five or so packages to their new helper. “Those need to go to Calem, Samus, Pit, Sonic, and Rock!”  
  
The teen balanced the packages in his hand with practiced ease. “I recognize a few of those names from Brawl, but who’s… who’s Calem and Rock?”  
  
Max stifled a yawn before speaking. “Calem’s that really _really_ French guy. He’s Greninja’s trainer.”  
  
“And Rock’s MegaMan!” Nessie cheered.  
  
Yosuke nodded at the information. Mentally kicking himself forgetting MegaMan’s name as well. Placing the map on top of all the packages, he bid the Villager kids goodbye, promising to find them later to pick up his payment. Most of them waved as they started figuring out where the rest of the packages needed to go.  
  
“Eddy, what’s with the weird grin?” Rosie asked as she checked off the package for Pit on her checklist.  
  
Eddy closed his eyes happily. “Four forty-four of the cloudy night! The time the evil Japanese shadow monsters leave the TV world and devour our souls~!”  
  


* * *

  
About two hours later, Yosuke finally returns to the main part of the back courtyard to meet up with the Villager kids after delivering their packages. It was tricky trying to find Pit though as he was actually on the roof of the Mansion. So the teen had to climb the ladder on the side of the building just to get to him. Thankfully he had been the last delivery so he didn’t have to worry about losing the other packages. He found himself laughing about how the angel couldn’t just fly down and grab it from him, completely forgetting that Pit is incapable of such a thing.  
  
“Alright Rosie-chan, Iri-chan, I got everything delivered for you.” Yosuke proclaimed as he took his headphones off.  
  
Irish did a cute little bow in thanks. “Sorry we put that off on you at such short notice. I hope it helped you as much it did us.”  
  
“Can’t… say that it did. Samus-san managed to spare a few hundred yen. Same for Calem-kun, in fact he paid _really_ well. The other’s though, they didn’t pay me anything for that.”  
  
“Sorry to hear that.” Rosie replied with a frown before digging in her pockets and dragging out a couple gold coins. “It’s nothing but I can give you a couple hundred Bells.”  
  
“Me too!” Irish proclaimed as she grabbed two gold coins herself.   
  
Following in the footsteps of their friends, the rest of the Villagers tried to give Yosuke _some_ form of payment for his help. None of it proved to help at all but for them the thought was mostly there. Max and Dawn gave the teen a small basket of lychees and mangoes respectively, and Josh gave him a trash can that was currently in the form of a leaf. Eddy offered the shirt off his back but was denied, and the same was said of Axel trying to give him an old boot he fished up.  
  
Yosuke sighed seeing that despite the work he did, there wasn’t much in the way of reward. Getting that full payment he needs before the end of the week is going to be near impossible at this rate. He figures he’ll hang around the courtyard area for a while longer to see if he runs into anyone else. There was plenty of Smashers around. Someone has to have something for him to do at some point.  
  


* * *

  
A few more hours pass and it is now a few minutes after twelve. Searching for more work outside in the courtyard proved to be fruitless. Anyone encountered didn’t need help with anything in particular. In fact, some of those Smashers were just hostile to Yosuke in some form. Mewtwo ignored him completely, Ganondorf quite literally said ‘fuck off’, and everyone knows Wario was going to be an asshole. That wasn’t really surprising. It was surprising that someone like Rosalina, the ever caring Mother of the Cosmos, even denied asking the teen to do something for her. Even something as simple as watching over the lumas, feeding them even would have been easy to do. Yet, she barely even acknowledged his presence.  
  
Yosuke groaned as he took a seat next to Teddie at one of the many tables of the Dining Union on the first floor. The teen had managed to raid the kitchen for something recognizable for lunch. There had been a couple bento boxes sitting in the fridge labeled ‘exchange food’. He assumed that meant whoever took something from that shelf had to put something back in return for the next person to look in the fridge. Yosuke had left the mangoes and lychees he earned from the Villagers since he didn’t have any other food on him. Teddie seemed a little defeated himself, but perked up at the prospect of food.  
  
“I’ll take it your morning was shit too.” Yosuke started as he opened the lid of the bento and picked up the reusable chopsticks.  
  
Teddie nodded as he opened his own lunch. “I got rejected again. First by the beautiful snow maiden Robbi-chan, then feisty Zel-chan gave me the cold shoulder.” He proceeded to pout and rest his chin on the table. “Even the beautiful Palu-chan, a literal _goddess_ , said no to me asking her on a date.”  
  
“For the last time Teddie, asking a woman to ‘score’ with you is _not_ asking them on a date. Those are two separate things!” The teen groaned as he picked up a piece of salmon. “Either way, my morning wasn’t much better than yours.” He stopped to pull back his lip and show the new gap in his teeth.  
  
“Oh wow Yosuke! How’d you do that!? Was it magic?”  
  
“No dumbass. Mac-senshu hit me in the jaw and a tooth was knocked loose. My chin is going to be bruised for forever.”  
  
“Humans can lose their teeth?”  
  
“We _can_. Though, the ones I have now aren’t supposed to come out.” Yosuke took a second to open the soda he brought with him. “Anyway, after that I was stuck acting like a delivery man for the Villager kids. You’ve been of no help either. You’re just as responsible for breaking that TV as I am and all you can think of is hitting on girls.”  
  
Teddie blushed and scratched the back of his head bashfully. It was truth that he didn’t do anything to help Yosuke pay off this debt, but he wasn’t the most reliable worker in the world anyway. The two went back to their half-finished meals in silence. While the teen was busy sulking Pit cheerfully walked over to the table and took a seat across from Yosuke. He waited a little bit before clearing his throat to get his attention.  
  
“Oh.” Yosuke said in surprise. He hadn’t realized someone had sat down. “Good afternoon Pit-san. Is… is there anything you need?”  
  
Pit’s smile was like that of the chesire cat. “I heard you complaining about that debt Master Hand threw on to you. It doesn’t seem very fair does it?”  
  
“Considering it was an accident, it’s not fair. But as a retail worker you learn to live the ‘you break it you buy it’ life.”  
  
The angel chuckled as he fluffed his wings. “You know, I can help erase a good chunk of that total you have. Hearts have one of the best conversions here in the Mansion.”  
  
The proposition piqued Yosuke’s interest. So much so that the last bit of salmon he had been eating fell from his grip back into the bento. Carefully he set down his chopsticks to finish his lunch later.  
  
“What do you have in mind?” The teen asked as he leaned back and folded his arms. “Nothing too crazy I would hope.”  
  
Another cheshire grin came as a response. “It’s really simple Yosuke. I just want you to… ‘service’ me.”  
  
“Oh hell no!”  
  
Pit leaned back at Yosuke’s outburst. Curiously he quirked an eyebrow and asked why he’s refusing such a good offer. The answer wasn’t one he really expected. The teen explained that he may be in a pinch for money but he’s not going to ‘sell’ his body out of desperation. There’s a difference between trying to earn money and just being desperate. He explained that what he’s doing is helping people with menial tasks, like carrying packages to recipients, watching someone’s kids, helping someone in the kitchen get ingredients. Normal things for someone to do when they’re working, and Pit’s suggestion was not a normal one. It wasn’t just the fact he asked that of Yosuke, but the fact the angel looks so young was really bothering the teen. He knew he was older than him to some extent, but he didn’t know Pit was actually in his thirties.  
  
Seeing as how there wasn’t much of a way to change Yosuke’s mind Pit pouted like a little kid. Standing up from the table he turns to leave. Stopping a few steps away he turns back to see the teen still glaring at him about the offer.  
  
“I’m telling you, five hundred thousand hearts will take off about a fourth of that debt of yours.” Pit insisted. “You’re really going to turn down the offer?”  
  
Yosuke growled a little at being asked a second time. “I’m telling you Pit-san, I’m not so desperate I’m going to sleep with you. I can find my own way to pay this off.”  
  
The angel huffed with an angry fluff of his feathers. Well, there was no changing his mind now. Pit turned away again and started leaving the Dining Union. His shoulder brushed Dunban’s on the way out. The Homs male gave him a curious look but decided not to question him.  
  
Yosuke groaned as he rested his arms on the table. He complained a little more to Teddie about how it was stupid for Pit to even bring up the idea. Not that saying that to the bear proved useful as he just started being mocked. The blond laughed at how the teen turned down an actual offer to score with someone. His joy didn’t last long though as he soon found his face being slammed into the bento box by an irritated Yosuke.  
  
“I really don’t need your comments right now Ted.” The brunette sighed as he went to finish his own food. “With those stupid memories from when we were in the Margin World coming back to haunt me, I’m not in the mood. I don’t know why, but something about them is bothering me.”  
  
The boys fell silent for a bit before Dunban quietly walked up and cleared his throat. Yosuke turned to look at him and greeted him quietly, trying to play off the Teddie-abuse just now. He didn’t recognize him so he asked for a name before he started speaking.  
  
“Dunban.” The Homs said in response to the question. “I had heard from a couple people around here you’re going around doing work in exchange for money. Is that correct?”  
  
Yosuke nodded as he pushed his food towards Teddie. “That’s right.” Based on how he was talking, the teen pieced together that the man in front of him wasn’t going to ask anything crazy. “Is there something you needed me to do Dunban-san?”  
  
“San?” He questioned instead of answering.  
  
“O-oh. It-it’s a formality. Sorry. Force of habit. I can not say it if you don’t want me to.”  
  
Dunban chuckled lightheartedly. “No it’s fine. I’ve just never heard anyone say that before. Anyway I came to ask if you would be willing to clean my katanas. It shouldn’t take very long.”  
  
Yosuke looked at Teddie, then back at Dunban. “Sure. I can do that.”  
  
“Very well.” The Homs smiled. “I’ll be in the back courtyard when you’re ready.”  
  


* * *

  
Yosuke stepped out into the midday sun as he went to meet up with Dunban once more. He had taken a little time to take the dishes he and Teddie had used back to the kitchen. It was better than leaving the bear with them and hoping he knew where to put the boxes. Looking around a bit it didn’t take long for the teen to find his ‘employer’ sitting at one of the benches near the fountain. A couple sheathed katanas resting next to him. The supplies to clean the weapons also present.   
  
The teen glanced around the area a bit before sitting down. “I… don’t want to seem rude Dunban-san.” Yosuke started as the other handed him one of the katanas. “But… why are you asking me to do this?”  
  
Dunban smiled sadly as he watched the boy unsheath the sword. “Well, I’m not in any condition to do it myself to be honest.”  
  
“Oh?” The brunette was suddenly curious as he grabbed one of the rags to get some of the crust off the blade, it looked to be dried blood. He stops for a second to see the older man take his right arm in his hand and show him the scars starting at his hand and running up his arm, under his sleeve. “How did that happen?”  
  
A second of silence. “I’ll put this simply, I was a soldier a few years ago. I was nothing more than a simple Corporal though. Nothing terribly fancy. There was a war that broke out between us Homs and the Mechon.”  
  
Yosuke turned the blade over as he listened. He figured it would be better to save the questions for later. Right now he was more engrossed in the story and needed to worry about cleaning the katana correctly. Thankfully he knew how due to watching Yu after a long day of battle.  
  
Dunban smiled as he continued his story. “We were clearly outnumbered by the machines. It didn’t help that I was the only one with a weapon could even put a dent in their armor. The Monado was the trump card for us Homs. With it in my hand, I single handedly turned the tide of the Battle of Sword Valley. Yet, it cost me the use of my right arm. Nearly cost my life as well. Doctors tell me all the time I should have died.”  
  
“You must be really strong.” The teen said with a smile as he finished cleaning the first katana. “In fact, you sound like my partner, Yu. He’s one of the stronger people I know. Can I ask what the ‘Monado’ is though?”  
  
“Ah yes, I forgot that you’re still new here.” The veteran chuckled. “I’ll take it you’ve met Shulk already.” A nod. “Well, that red sword on his back is the Monado. After I collapsed trying to use it again during an attack on Colony 9 he picked it up and was able to harness it’s power. In fact, he was more proficient with it in less than a minute than I ever was after ten years.”  
  
“But you said you turned the tide of a battle Dunban-san. You clearly knew what you were doing right?” Yosuke asked as he was handed the second katana.  
  
Dunban laughed. “You make it sound like I had a plan going into that fight. I was reckless. A reckless, defiant soldier. We were ordered to retreat, but I stayed and continued to risk my life even more. For my valor I was promoted to the rank of the General of the Defence Force, and ever since I’ve been hailed as ‘the hero of the Homs’. A title I do not believe I deserve.”  
  
Slowly the teen unsheathed the blade. This one looked a little more worn down than the other one. “Being a hero isn’t everything it sounds like. So I understand what you’re saying.” He admitted.  
  
“You’ve been in battle? You’re quite young. If I had to guess, you can’t be any older than Shulk.”  
  
“I turned seventeen six months ago.” A bashful remark, as if he was embarrassed to admit it. “I’m barely old enough to drive a motorcycle and yet I’ve helped my partner save the lives of five people in less than a year. Add in the fact we’re all in high school, and I have a part-time job, and I’m surprised I’m still walking.”  
  
“The beauty of being young.” Dunban comments. “You have a lot of energy. Though, it sounds like you’re putting it to good use, but why are you saving people’s lives if I may ask?”  
  
Yosuke stopped cleaning the katana in his hand for a second. His reflection reminding him of that glint he gets in his eye when using Susano-o. “We’re going after a killer back in our little town. The people we saved… Yukiko-san, Kanji-kun, and the others, they were going to be the next targets if we didn’t step in. We… we already have two dead bodies related to the case… I couldn’t just stand back and let the pile grow…”  
  
The Homs waited patiently for the teen to calm down slightly. “One of those people was close to you. Weren’t they?”  
  
“H-huh!?” The teen jerked back a little. “Oh… that obvious?”  
  
“I could tell by your tone.”  
  
“Yeah… one of them was a girl I ended up falling for… She didn’t return those feelings at all, but I don’t mind. I just want to bring the bastard that killed her to justice. She didn’t deserve to die.”  
  
The two fell into silence after Yosuke’s statement. He finished cleaning the katana in his hand and sheathed it once more. The air around was clearly tense, but it was going away as the sound of the fountain running and the rustling of the trees brought serenity. The silence didn’t seem forced either, it was oddly relaxing. The two would spend a few minutes basking in the quiet stillness of the summer afternoon before Dunban would speak up.  
  
“You have a special power resting in you.” He said simply, directing his gaze at Yosuke. “It seems oddly familiar.”  
  
The teen visibly tensed for a second before relaxing. “I, guess I do Dunban-san. You may not believe me, but I can control the wind. Like, really powerful wind magic kind of stuff. The magic you hear about in-.”  
  
“Fairy tales.” The Homs finished. “That explains why your aura seemed familiar. I have wind powers as well, which is unusual for my people. Yours are different than mine though, I can tell.”  
  
Yosuke was dumbfounded by this seemingly normal man being able to tell he could use a Persona. “Well, it’s not always great using that power though. It makes me really weak to electricity, which ironically is what my partner is basically a master of using.”  
  
“So you’re not the only one with these powers.” It was more of a statement than a question.  
  
“Yeah, all of us have some power. It makes us unique I guess.”  
  
“Unique is good.” The Homs added. “With unique power comes with some sense of responsibility as well. Your power needs to be used for the right reasons though. I met a man with great power, but he was corrupted by it, that and jealousy. He met his demise in the end because of it.”  
  
Yosuke nodded quietly. The air grew tense once more for a second as the thought mulled over in his head. Jealousy… he knew he was jealous of Yu, but he wasn’t going to admit it again. They punched each other in the face to ‘knock’ the jealousy out of him already. Make them equals. But… the feeling of jealousy he felt now, it wasn’t the same. Before he was jealous of the Wild Card ability his boyfriend possessed. Now though, those thoughts that were bothering him before with the memories of the Margin World, that was a whole new brand of jealousy. He was worried that if Yu remembered that strange time in that strange world like he did, he’d remember _him_. The other wild card.  
  
A violent shake of the head. _“Get those thoughts out of your head Hanamura.”_  
  
“I seem to have struck a bad note with you.” Dunban states seeing the frustration on Yosuke’s face. “My apologies.”  
  
“Huh? Oh.” Yosuke trailed off for a second. “It wasn’t you Dunban-san. I just remembered something having to do with my partner that ended up making things awkward. It happened a long while ago, so it shouldn’t bother me.”  
  
A knowing smile. “Romance has its points where things get like that. Sounds like you’re happy with him.”  
  
Blush creeped onto the teen’s cheeks. Either he’s just really _easy_ to read, or Dunban is a _master_ of reading people. Then again, maybe constantly calling Yu ‘partner’ was proving to make it obvious. He tried to play it off that the two were just really close friends. Since this was a new place to him, he didn’t know how the Smashers would feel about him having a boyfriend.  
  
Dunban let out a slight chuckle seeing Yosuke’s distress. He apologizes for getting him all flustered and stands up. Gently reaching into one of his pockets the Homs pulled out a decent sized bag full of gold coins. A calming smile crosses his features as he gives the teen his payment.  
  
“Before you came out here I added another small handful of gold.” He admits.  
  
Yosuke looks at the bag. “Why?”  
  
“You did give me someone to talk to. You remind me of Shulk’s friend Reyn a little.” He stops to laugh at his own statement before looking back at his helper. “You also helped tremendously. These things must be cleaned after every use, but due to my disability I don’t usually have much of a chance to clean them properly.”  
  
There was a little bit of silence as Dunban turned to go back inside. Before doing so though, he stopped and told Yosuke it would be wise to turn in whatever money he’s made today so he doesn’t lose it. Many Smashers would just love to pick his pockets. The teen smiles and thanks the veteran for understanding what he was talking about with the powers and such. All he got was a knowing smile.

* * *

  
In the TV World, specifically the reality that reflected the Inaba Shopping District, something more sinister was happening compared to the somewhat peaceful nature of the Smash Mansion. A Shadow was taking form in the replica of the Konishi liquor store. After forming, his eyes opened, and they were a sickening hue of golden yellow. Casually stretching the Shadow looked around and sighed.  
  
“I thought I would have learned not to hide stuff anymore.” He lamented to himself. “I guess that ‘facade’ of mine decided to start cracking. Though, I’m not exactly complaining that I’m out of my head.”  
  
The Shadow smirked as he walked over to the counter and picked up a couple pieces of  the cut up photo of Yosuke and Saki that still sat there to this day. Such wonderfully painful memories. Shadow Yosuke figured it was high time he paid his original a personal visit. Being cramped up inside Susano-o wasn’t his ideal way of spending the rest of a human’s lifespan. Though, now that he sees that even though Yosuke still has his Persona -as he felt like a small part of him was connected to his original- he can still exist. That would make things quite interesting to say the least.  
  
“Can’t keep my true name though.” Shadow Yosuke chuckled to himself as he picked up a pair of kunai laying on the floor. How those got here is beyond him, but he didn’t care as it was convenient. “Since I’m still technically part of Jiraiya, just the dark side, I might as well call myself that… Man, I sound like a fucking dork.”  
  
Shadow Yosuke, who now declares that he will be called ‘DJ’, decides to test a theory that he remembers the original hearing from Teddie. As he and Yosuke shared the same mind, he could recall that Teddie himself is a Shadow, and if he was able to leave the Midnight Channel without a Persona, why couldn’t any other Shadow? There was an exit after all, it’s just that most Shadows don’t have the mental capacity to use it. As it was their main thoughts were just ‘kill’ anyway.  
  
As Saki’s reality was one of the ones closest to the exit, it didn’t take long for DJ to reach the place where the exit was. The stack of TVs was still there, each one flickering a blurry image on it. The top showing what looked like an electronic store, another showing a room, and the bottom one was unfocused, like the TV on the other side was being moved.  
  
“Well, I never was one to stop and think about consequences.” DJ thought aloud as he pressed a hand against the screen of the bottom TV. It started to ripple in response.  
  
Without a second thought the Shadow started to step back. A running start would be the best bet on getting enough momentum to get out through that specific TV before it was moved out of range. With a good running start the Shadow leapt headfirst through the screen. The tunnel was allowed him to move very quickly. The twists and turns of when Yosuke and Teddie came this way remaining, if not being worse than before.  
  


* * *

  
On the other side of the TV Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B. had been attempting to remove the busted piece of electronic so it could be disposed of. Both ended up jumping back out of surprise when it started sparking and a person came flying out of the only intact part of the screen. There was a loud crash as the remainder of the screen shattered and a few pieces of glass came flying off with the person.  
  
DJ ended up tumbling to the floor. His face being the first thing to connect with the human world. It took a bit for him to stop moving as the running start he had only proved to have made the situation worse. A groan could be heard as he picked himself up from the floor. He had to pick up the kunai that came flying out of his grip.  
  
“Huh, I’m surprised these didn’t stab someone.” He commented as he turned around. Gold eyes met robotic grey. “Well _shit_.”  
  
Now was definitely not the time to think. Clearly the Shadow has been spotted, and if he had to guess _someone_ heard that crash he caused. Glancing around quickly, a nearby window was found. DJ decided that would be his only option of escape. He decided to make a run for it. Unfortunately, as he was still a part of Yosuke he had his moments of idiocy. He hadn’t realized the window was closed and ended up smacking into the glass face first.  
  
“Fucking hell.” He cursed. Turning to see R.O.B. coming toward him with a determined look in its robotic eyes he decided to try again with more speed.  
  
Backing up once more, like he had in the TV, the Shadow tried for a running start. It seemed to have worked in his favor this time as he managed to break through that pane of glass like it was nothing.  
  
Zelda had been nearby when the TV had the rest of its screen broken. Sadly she only managed to get to the Game Room as the window was just being broken. The only glimpse she could get of the perpetrator was the soles of his shoes, but even in this household that wouldn’t do any good. Sighing unceremoniously the Hylian Queen ignored Mr. G&W’s incessant beeping. She couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then again, it was easy to assume it was the old man swearing like a sailor. The most she could do now was report the incident to Master Hand and let the two dimensional being take care of it.

* * *

  
It was finally the end of the day and Yosuke was feeling truly exhausted. After finishing up some ‘chores’ for the younger Smashers, he decided to head to that Mr. Saturn Hot Springs that Dawn had marked on her map. He had decided to drag Teddie along with him. The bear would have complained all night if he didn’t knowing how much he enjoyed his bath time.  
  
The springs itself were designed much like the bath at the Amagi Inn. It was open-air, and had a very relaxing vibe to it. A few Mr. Saturns milled about making sure the bath remained clean and filled. There was a lot of steam in the area, as to be expected, but it made things a little difficult to see.   
  
The two boys were unaware if they were even supposed to be in the bath at this time, not that Yosuke would mind if a girl walked in and they didn’t see him. Smash had a lot of lovely ladies after all. Those thoughts needed to be put on hold first though, as the purpose of this place is to soak in a clean bath.  
  
After spending a few minutes getting washed up Teddie and Yosuke settled into the water.  
  
“I’m surprised this madhouse even maintains a hot spring.” The teen comments as he leans against one of the many walls. “Though, I can’t complain, the water feels nice. Might keep me from being sore tomorrow.”  
  
Teddie was content playing with one of the Mr. Saturns that was wading with them. “This is bear-y fun too! Last time we tried taking a bath in a hot spring we ended up-!”  
  
“Shut up Teddie! Don’t remind me of last time.”  
  
The two fall into silence once more before the sound of the door at the entrance of the bath could be heard opening and closing. The steam made it impossible to tell who it was from the distance they were at. Both ended up being a mixture of worried and excited if the person that walked in was female. Yosuke and Teddie ended up hiding behind one of the rocks close by.  
  
Whoever the newcomer was, they were remaining quiet as they stepped into the water. Quietly they waded towards the area where the Investigation Team members were. Their face became somewhat clearer amidst the steam.  
  
Teddie swore his eyes turned to hearts. _“This person looks exactly like Robbi-chan!”_ He thinks to himself as he moves away from the rock. _“Time to make my move.”_  
  
Yosuke stayed behind, but peered a little be more out from behind the hiding place as his companion went towards this new person. If he struck out, maybe he could try.  
  
The bear smiled as he got in front of the Robbi look-a-like and took their hand in his own. He bowed as he did so and traced the mark on the back of their hand.  
  
“My fair maiden.” Teddie begins as he presses a kiss to the hand. “Your hair is as beautiful as freshly fallen snow, and your skin fairer than a clear day in the noon sun.”  
  
 _“When did Teddie learn to be smooth?”_ Yosuke asked himself.  
  
The person gave Teddie a coy smile. “I’m quite flattered, but I have a boyfriend. Nor am I a maiden.”  
  
Both boys freeze at the sound of their voice. That was no lady at all. Teddie released the person’s hand as he backed up.  
  
“Y-you’re not a lady!?” The blond asked as Yosuke came up next to him to get a better look at the other in the bath.  
  
“Not at all. I’m Robin, Robbi’s younger twin _brother_.” He said calmly, resting a hand on his hip.  
  
Yosuke tried to play off the situation before Teddie made it awkward. “Sorry about him! He likes to be a huge flirt, and he couldn’t really tell you’re a guy in all this steam.”  
  
“It is a bit steamier than usual, I would agree.” Robin said as he looked around. “The Mr. Saturns might have made the water too warm today. It happens.”  
  
Yosuke laughed nervously as he pressed Teddie into the water so all three of them could sit and get comfortable. “My name’s Hanamura Yosuke, and this is Teddie.”  
  
The tactician raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so you’re those people that everyone’s been talking about. You two have made a name for yourselves around here.”  
  
“I’d… rather not know what everyone’s saying about me.”  
  
Robin nods in affirmation. Before they manage to get to any other topic though, a booming voice could be heard from the other side of the area. The mage only knew one person that yells upon entry to the hot springs. Captain Douglas J. Falcon. The F-Zero racer didn’t care that he was overly loud upon entering the relaxing area. Without any regard to who may be here already Falcon lept into the bath. The resulting wave came crashing down upon the three already sitting in the water. Out of them all, Teddie was the most annoyed to get his hair soaked once more.  
  
Confidently Falcon walks over to where the three other males are sitting in the water and takes it upon himself to sit next to Robin. He’s got that cheeky grin on his face while the mage is visibly uncomfortable.  
  
“So.” Falcon starts, directing his gaze to Yosuke and Teddie. “You’re the newcomers. I give you a warm Falcon welcome!”  
  
The teen returned the statement with a sheepish smile. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He figured it was just a friendly gesture, not many people gave him a warm welcome after all. What came after his welcoming statement though wasn’t as nice.  
  
“I heard from Jane that you were working out with her and Mac this morning.” He comments as he looks the teen over.  
  
Yosuke nervously nodded. “I had been, I lost a tooth sadly because Mac-senshu didn’t pull the punch.”  
  
Robin looked quite concerned hearing that statement. Concerned and confused really, as he knew how hard Little Mac can punch, but yet the male in front of him hardly had a bruise anywhere to signify that he did get hit. Though, he didn’t get a chance to comment about it as Douglas spoke up again.  
  
“Jane also mentioned you’re a real skinny guy. That you’re almost underweight you’re so thin.”  
  
The F-Zero was starting to cross some boundaries now.  
  
“I don’t care if she told you because she’s a fitness instructor.” Yosuke muttered harshly. “But my weight is not of anyone’s concern but my own Falcon-san.”  
  
For once Teddie attempted to come to his friend’s aid. “I spend all his money all the time! So… so he doesn’t usually get to eat food a lot of the time.”  
  
“That’s very true, that’s why I don’t have enough on-hand cash to pay off that damn TV either. I’m also… very active. I do a lot of… training with Yu and the rest of my friends.”  
  
Robin decided to interject before Douglas spoke again. “You’re also a teenager aren’t you?” He waited for the brunette to nod in response. “That’s a valid reason as well, you’re still growing, so you should have a higher metabolism so you burn energy faster.”  
  
Somehow those two were believing the half made-up excuses Teddie and Yosuke were spouting. Sure Teddie ate a lot, but Yosuke wasn’t starving because of him. He ate quite well to be perfectly honest, not just because of making a decent paycheck, but also Yu being a wonderful cook. The only part he couldn’t disclose the full details on was the ‘training’ he did. It wasn’t so much ‘training’ he and the others do in the TV World as much as ‘fighting for survival’. Keeping that part secret made sense to him. How could Yosuke explain that he has a physical manifestation of his psyche eating up his energy half the time while fighting? He didn’t even know that Robin used magic.  
  
Thankfully for them someone else entered the area. Someone could be heard yelling at Falcon to quit nagging someone about their body. Yosuke recognized the voice, it was Mac. He had been coming to relax in the bath along with Shulk, Pit, Roy, and one other male that appeared to be Link. The group that was just now coming in didn’t waste any time crawling into the water and wading over to where everyone else was.  
  
Shulk cleared his throat before speaking calmly. “I believe that it’s time all the _adults_ left the area.”  
  
Falcon noticeably scrunched his face up in irritation. He liked enjoying the bath as much as the next Smasher, but if he was being kicked out, so be it. Pit also made a face but kept his place in the water. Yosuke figured the statement was only said to get Douglas out of the area. Though, he was a little shocked when Robin stood up.  
  
“W-wait. Robin, why are you getting up?” Shulk asked, surprised.  
  
Robin pretended to be sad. “You said all the adults needed to leave so I guess that means I’m not wanted either.”  
  
“I-I-I didn’t mean you! You know I forget!”  
  
Yosuke looked between the two for a brief moment before blurting out a question. “Robin-kun… I mean san is an adult?”  
  
“You thought he was younger than you?” Pit asked with a sarcastic laugh. “It would be nice, but you can’t do a lot of the fun stuff we can at your age!”  
  
“Wait… you’re an adult too?”  
  
Shulk folded his arms as Robin sat back down. “He’s an old man is what he is.”  
  
“Hey! I’m just barely older than your mentor!” The angel chastised as he wagged his finger. “Is that how you treat all your elders?”  
  
The two continued to bicker off to the side as Mac and Link shook their heads in annoyance. Roy in the meanwhile took a seat a little _too_ close to Yosuke and rested an arm on the teen’s shoulder. He casually asked him about how he’s been enjoying the Mansion, as well as if he’s tried flirting with any of the ladies.  
  
Yosuke shook his head. “No, and no. The one that’s been trying to win a date around here has been Teddie.” To prove his point he gestured to the bear as he continued playing with the Mr. Saturn he had.  
  
“So _you’re_ the one that was trying to get in my sister’s pants!” Robin barked as he stood up once more.  
  
“Ro, please calm down. You can let Henry handle him.” Shulk said soothingly as he tried to keep the other from murdering Teddie right there in the bath.  
  
“But Robbi is my _sister!_ ”  
  
The brunette shook his head as he shrugged Roy off his shoulder. “As I much as I disapprove of him doing it, please don’t hurt Teddie, Robin-san. I’m in charge of watching him and I’d rather him not get hurt.”  
  
“See, you do care Yosuke!” Teddie chimed in as he leaned on his ‘friend’.  
  
“Shut it bear.”  
  
Shulk blinked quickly a couple times before tilting his head. “Wait… Your name _isn’t_ Hanamura?”  
  
Yosuke let out a small laugh. “You thought it was? It’s my last name. I guess you guys are used to stating your first name first.”  
  
Most everyone else in the room nodded their head. Well that just makes things awkward. Silence fell upon the area as everyone tried to find something to talk about. Small conversations would start between a couple people but fall apart quickly. It seemed that the air was just getting more awkward as time let on. The only sounds in the area was the sound of the waterfalls and the occasional splash from Teddie.  
  
“Oh!” Shulk suddenly started as he remembered something. “Yosuke, I think I remember hearing Peach putting a flyer on the bulletin board asking for someone to help with something.”  
  
Mac nodded his head. “I saw it too. Think it’s for clothes fittin’ or somethin’.”  
  
Pit eyed the teen carefully. “I think he’d be perfect for her work. He’s not much taller than most of us anyway. It would be easier for her to make adjustments if needed.”  
  
Robin looked at the angel incredulously. “I know most of the guys around here average to five seven but you know how Peach is sometimes.”  
  
“Well…” Yosuke started. “I don’t think it would be that big of a problem for me. You guys are busy with your matches all the time. Right?” Everyone nodded at his statement. “Well, I don’t have to do that, in fact I’m outright banned. I have the time. Besides, maybe she can make me some extra clothes to wear…”  
  
It was true that he was still just borrowing other people’s clothes at the moment. A job like this would surely be able to help with that. Winter clothes in the middle of the summer weren’t exactly the most comfortable. The Smashers could attest to that feeling. Knowing Peach as well, she’s going to pay quite well for something like this.  
  
“Oh yeah, speaking of clothes.” Yosuke starts nervously. “Does anyone else have something I could borrow for a couple days? Something for Teddie as well.”  
  
Robin nodded. “I’m sure he’ll fit into anything in my wardrobe, but that’s about all I can offer. You’re a little too tall for my attire though Yosuke.”  
  
“I can let you borrow my clothes too.” Shulk stated simply. “Dunban may have an extra shirt too.”  
  
Mac leaned back as he stretched. “Doesn’t ol’ Luigi have some extra overalls?”  
  
Except for Pit, everyone was apparently ok with helping out the teen and his friend. Maybe the rest of this week won’t end up being an absolute trainwreck after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things I feel the need to explain today.  
> 1\. The three girls mentioned in the cafe are Lola, Tiffany, and Nikki from Huniepop.
> 
> 2\. The part where Yu starts playing NekoAtsume instead of doing anything useful is a jab at his cat obsession. Just seemed fitting enough that he'd find the kitty game and forget he's supposed to be emailing Yosuke.
> 
> 3\. Yosuke's nickname for the red-shirt Villager (Axel) is a joke on how the Animal Crossing games are so sweet and cute and then in Smash Villager is characterized as an axe-murderer.
> 
> 4\. Yosuke can recognize most of the Smashers in the Mansion either by name or appearance based upon the fact he's that guy that plays a lot of video games. He's probably played Brawl so it makes sense he'd be ok with figuring out who people are. He won't recognize characters like Robin, Dark Pit, or Calem as their games don't even exist at the time Persona 4 takes place
> 
> 5\. That really weird line Eddy says? It's actually not complete bullshit. It's actually his way of mentioning that he knows about the Midnight Channel. He just messed up the details.
> 
> 6\. Mac has a really strong punch, everyone knows that. I figured that against just your average Joe (no, not Glass Joe) a good uppercut from him would probably break the jaw, or at least just dislocate it. Considering Yosuke has a Persona and he and the others have survived the Shadows up to that point, he's probably a little more resilient.
> 
> 7\. If it wasn't overly clear, Teddie is talking about female Robin, Zelda, and Palutena
> 
> 8\. Yes, Dunban is aware that Yosuke and Yu are an item. Yes, he can figure it out based on context alone.
> 
> 9\. The "last time" Teddie and Yosuke bring up is the Persona 4 Golden version of the bath scene. Pretty much what you'd expect out of it.


	3. Reversed Wheel of Fortune

****July 18th, 2015** **

 

It was midmorning of the third day for the Investigation Team. Yu and Yukiko managed to find Kanji and Chie after a little bit of searching around the downtown area. The two girls immediately got to catching up with what had happened when they had arrived. In addition to that, Chie went into the goings on of yesterday with the police hot on her and Kanji's tails with the broken TV incident.

The four teens decided to take refuge at a nearby outdoor shopping plaza. The area was decently crowded, just enough to keep Chie and Kanji from being too easily detected, while not being suffocating. Yu's first priority after finding a table for him and his friends was to send an email to Yosuke. He borrowed Yukiko's phone once more for the task. He sent a quick message immediately (after checking on his kitties of course and smiling as he snapped a picture of a new one) and hoped that his partner would respond.

Kanji groaned as he rested his hand on his chin. "This blows. We have no fuckin' idea where Naoto-chan or anyone else is. What if they aren't even in this same town? What if they got arrested!?"

"I doubt we would have gotten too separated." Yukiko interjects as she is handed back her phone. "Since we all managed to regroup so quickly too is a good sign. We'll continue looking for Naoto-chan, Yosuke-kun, and the others today."

Yu nodded in agreement to the idea. Chie started suggesting places to look around the city in the meanwhile. The grey-haired teen glanced around to see if there was anyone that would be willing to help them look or at least know this area. Fate seemed to smile sadistically upon him as he was hit in the head with a shopping bag as a red-haired girl in a lolita dress walked by. He stood up seeing how many bags she had and figured helping her would help him and the others get some information. Casually he walks over to the redhead and gets in front of her a little. He switches his countenance from his usual stoic look to his 'good samaritan' look.

"I see you're carrying a lot there." Yu begins with a gentle smile. "Do you need a hand?"

The girl stops and rolls her eyes in disgust. "If you're looking for a quick and cheap girl to fuck, go look somewhere else. The 'nice guy' shit doesn't work on me."

All of Yu's friends could be seen behind the girl giving surprised looks. That was quite the blunt comment. Especially so since the grey haired teen was just trying to be helpful. He shook it off though, pretending that the girl in front of him is just a more vulgar Ai Ebihara. Apparently he was wrong when he thought he couldn't find a girl worse than her.

"Oh. Oh no, I'm not interested in… that." He starts, trying to find the words. English was starting to fail him at this moment. "I was just hoping you could lead me to any other malls or shopping centers. In exchange I carry your bags?"

"Hm…" The redhead hummed. She actually stopped to think about the proposition. It didn't take her long to dump her load into Yu's arms and drag out a cigarette. "You have a deal. Only because I think you're kind of hot. You carry my shit and follow me. I thought I was fucked on getting any more clothes but today's my lucky day!"

Yu looked back at Yukiko and the others and gestured his head to motion for them to follow him. Today was going to be a long day for them, but if helping this girl was going to help find Naoto and the others they had to take the chance. Even if the redhead was the one kind of person the IT leader hoped to never interact with willingly again.

The girl turned around and looked Yu right in the eye menacingly. "By the way, my name's Audrey. So don't go calling me 'Bitchtits' out of ignorance."

"Y-yes ma'am." He muttered as he shifted the bags to be slightly more comfortable.

* * *

 

Yosuke sighed as he watched the Koopalings run around the back courtyard of the Smash Mansion. They were a handful, but at least Bowser only asked him to make sure they didn't pull out the explosives. The brunette was never really all that great with dealing with kids. Of course the occasional lost child in the middle of Junes could count, but it really didn't all things considered. Thankfully Teddie was keeping the other company. They talked about what could have happened to the rest of the Investigation Team. A couple ideas were bounced around that they landed somewhere in this world, or they're still lost in the transfer from the Midnight Channel to reality. Yosuke's thoughts started to wander to the possibility of everyone actually landing safely back in Inaba while he and Teddie are stuck here.

"Well what's a cutie like you doing pouting out here?" A sudden voice chirped, knocking Yosuke out of his thoughts.

He lifted his head from where it rested on his palm. Both he and Teddie was dumbstruck to see a pretty blonde girl floating in front of them. Her blue scarf waving in the non-existent wind. The brunette found himself at a loss for words just staring at the blonde.

"Uh, earth to handsome?" She spoke again, lightly flicking his nose.

Yosuke rubbed his nose before responding. "Sorry. You're just so beautiful I forgot how to speak." The teen felt like he was forgetting how to even speak properly, the blonde was just that dazzling. "I must know your name."

"Flattering." She replies with a smirk. "I'm Phosphora. Since I don't recognize you, I'll take it you're, like, that boy everyone's been blabbing on and on about the last couple days."

"Y-yeah!" He stuttered out as he stood up. "N-nice to meet you Phosphora-san!"

"Well la-di-da I got the right guy." Phosphora leaned in until the tip of her nose touched Yosuke's. "I've been kind of getting bored around here and Pit's been ignoring little ol' me. I could do for someone giving me a _good time~_." Her voice lingered on the words 'good time', signifying what exactly she meant.

Teddie shuddered and felt his nose twitch all of a sudden. Something was off about that girl and it was making his skin crawl. Quickly he tried to get Yosuke's attention, he could feel that Phosphora was an electric user. The air around her was electrified and it was making the hair on the back of Teddie's neck stand up.

The brunette totally ignored the bear's warning. Even going so far to pull his arm away. His judgement was being blocked by the sheer beauty of a divine being in front of him. Phosphora smiled as she ran her hand down the teen's face. She laughed seeing him shiver at the tingling sensation. Slender fingers traced down his chin and neck before reaching his shoulder. Moving even lower the demigoddess ended up lightly grasping his hand. Her other hand resting gently on his hip.

Yosuke stared back at the blonde through half-lidded eyes. He felt the urge to close the gap between them. What Yu didn't know won't hurt him, they were in an open relationship after all. That feeling was suddenly interrupted as a sudden electrical force surged through his arm. Recoiling back the brunette found himself tripping over the bench he had been sitting on. His entire body going weak from the 'attack'.

Yosuke held his arm in pain as he awkwardly stood up. The electrified feeling pulsing through his entire body as well. It left his legs feeling like jelly and his heart was racing.

"W-what the hell!?" He asked, the force behind his voice being lost.

Phosphora didn't answer him as she set her hands behind her head. "Darn, I thought you would have handled that better."

"I…! I'm _weak_ to-!" The brunette stopped as he looked at his injuries. They were worse than anything he's received from a Shadow.

Teddie rushed over to hold his friend to keep him from hitting his head as he collapsed. It was slightly delayed, but the shock finally caused him to pass out. The blond tried to yell at Phosphora to help, as she had caused this, but she zipped off before even half a word could be said. It was up to the bear to get Yosuke help now.

* * *

Teddie eventually managed to half-drag Yosuke to the infirmary after that encounter. He ended up getting a little help from Ike in the meanwhile. Yosuke may be light, but even he was a little too heavy for the bear. Thankfully someone capable of carrying the teen was even around.

In the infirmary itself Nurse Joy didn't hesitate to hook the teen up to the heart monitor to make sure his heart was stable. His heart rate was definitely high, but other than that it appeared to be normal. He was also starting to come to slowly. It would have been better if he stayed out though. The moment he started to come to consciousness the pain and tingling of being electrocuted surged at full power. The pain was nearly unbearable for him due to his weakness.

The pink haired nurse gently held Yosuke down by his shoulders. "Please sir, calm down. I don't want to restrain you. Your injury isn't that bad."

"Easy for you to-." Yosuke stopped talking once he opened his eyes. He got a good hard look at the nurse and smiled. "Well, hello nurse~."

Joy inwardly sighed at the teen's sudden change. She figured it was best to ignore his advances. At least her presences seemed to distract him from the pain somehow. Dr. Mario shook his head at Yosuke's behavior as he walked up.

"As-a far as I can see." The doctor begins, catching the brunette's attention. "Your-a injury isn't too serious. Nurse Joy here will-a apply some salve to keep away infection, and-a bandage it up."

The teen furrowed his brows in worry. "Am I not going to be able to use my arm and hand because of this?"

Joy stepped away for a second to get the salve, bandages, and morphine while the other two continue to talk.

Dr. Mario shook his head as he scribbled on his notes. "The-a worst you'll have is a light-a tingling in your fingers for a few hours, and some scarring."

Yosuke fell silent at the mention of scarring. His eyes glanced over to watch Nurse Joy start applying the salve to his arm. It stung a bit but not as much as the doctor's words. Sure, he had tons of scars littering his body under his clothes. Those came from Shadows but they were easy to hide. Most were on his chest, some on his back, and a stray one crossed over his leg. This one though, it was right on his arm and even his hand. There was _no way_ his parents wouldn't notice. He dreaded trying to think of an excuse to how it happened. He may be clumsy, but even he knows how to avoid getting electrocuted.

Quietly Yosuke took the medicine given to him as the nurse finished bandaged up his arm. He was instructed to reapply it if it gets wet or dirty with fresh gauze. Instruction was also given to take minor pain medication if needed. Otherwise he could continue on with his normal routine.

The teen stands up and stretches out his back before heading towards the door. "Oh. Uh… thanks."

Nurse Joy smiled and waved. "We hope to see you again soon."

Yosuke sighed at the familiar send-off of Nurse Joy. He's played enough Pokémon to know it by heart. Still doesn't make it any less condescending. Hearing it after being discharged from an infirmary doesn't exactly help matters either. Regardless the brunette decided to start making his way towards Peach's room. **  
**

* * *

It took about five minutes more than it should have for Yosuke to find the Princess' room. He wasn't directionally challenged at all, but it just seemed like it was impossible to navigate the manor's upper floors. The teen ended up running into Bowser on his way thankfully. He received the payment for babysitting as expected. Surprising, considering he had to leave them alone due to his injury. Bowser seemed understanding though about it. Yosuke just figured Teddie explained what happened, or even one of the Koopalings since they had been out there with him.

Yosuke sighed as he fiddled with the cord of his headphones. Something seemed unsettling about taking up Peach's offer of being a human mannequin. Calmly he put on his fake smile (like the one he learned to use while working) and knocked on the door. Peach opened the door only a moment later with a pleasant smile.

"Good morning Yosuke!" She greeted as she dusted off her skirt. "Robbi mentioned that you would possibly stop by!"

The brunette scratched the back of his head out of nervous habit. "Good morning to you too Peach-hime. I guess Robbi-san mentioned I was coming by to take up your job offer?"

The blonde smiled gently as a response. "She hadn't, she was really busy at the time."

"Oh. Well…" That certainly derailed Yosuke's thoughts. "You… you are still looking for the help right? Shulk-senpai had brought it up last night."

"Of course I am. I can _always_ take the help. Everyone is so busy all the time though it's hard to get someone in here for long enough to do a proper fitting."

Yosuke nodded in response to Peach accepting his offer. She casually invited him into her room. It was of course more regally designed than his own room. There were curtains around her bed, and the sheets were so plush it looked like a cloud. It was clearly the room of a princess, even with Zelda's belongings in there. A menagerie of sewing material and supplies were littered around one half of the room all over the floor.

"I… I like you room." He said sheepishly. "Nicer than mine."

Peach smiled once more as she attempted to clean up her mess. "Thank you. Outside the rest of the lady Smashers, no one ever really comes in here. You seem like such a nice boy too. I wouldn't mind inviting you over more often."

Pink suddenly coats the teen's cheeks at the comment. Yosuke even goes as far to hide his face in his headphones. Usually he would be gung-ho about being invited to a ladies' room, but he was more nervous since Peach is a princess. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea considering her status.

"D'aw, no need to blush." Peach comments as she pinches his cheek. "Though it does bring out those freckles even more~."

Yosuke pulled away from the princess and touched his face. "What are you talking about?"

The blonde's smile gets a little bigger as she pushes the teen in front of her vanity's mirror. She gently circles her fingers around his cheeks to point out the multitude of brown flecks coating them. They were faintly visible in other areas like his nose and forehead, but it was easy to see them otherwise. Upon seeing them Yosuke immediately flushed red and tried to wipe them off in embarrassment.

Peach giggled at the teen's frustration once he realized that the freckles are part of his skin. At that point she finally got back on track, remembering why Yosuke was even in her room. She turns to clear off the small pedestal in front of her mirrors. Cheerfully she turns around and asks if the brunette is comfortable removing his clothing. Another faint blush crosses Yosuke's cheeks at the question. As much as he hated Luigi's borrowed overalls he was wearing (they seemed more like something Teddie would wear), he wasn't really sure about stripping in front of a princess.

Sighing in contempt the brunette slowly removed his headphones and music player to put them on the vanity. After that he fiddled with the buttons to the overalls before letting them slip off. He would have taken his shoes off first, but given they were boots that went under the material of the pants it was easier to wait. The shirt was the next to go, leaving the brunette just in his socks, underwear, and a pendant (which he remembers is from Yu but not where he got from). He wasn't sure what he was self-conscious about anymore, his scars, weight, or just being almost naked in front of a princess.

Peach didn't seem to mind the state his body was in though. Then again, it shouldn't be much of a surprise given this is _Smash_ Mansion. Gently the blonde started humming the familiar _Mario Bros._ theme. The sound of her voice filling the room as she grabbed a tape measure. Hearing such a familiar tune, Yosuke couldn't help but join her. It did quell his nervousness a little at least.

After getting all of Yosuke's basic measurements Peach finally started getting some of the clothes she had lying around. She was going to start with her own choices for fitting but that plan changed. The brunette asked if she could make some clothes for him personally. He has nearly exhausted all his available options, and there was still the rest of the week to go. The princess decided to happily oblige him. Carefully she picked some of the more loose fitting shirts and some pants.

It made him feel sort of like a child, or even a doll, but Yosuke put the clothes presented to him on upon command. The shirt was a burnt orange v-neck tee that looked more like it was designed for Samus at first. It was wide in the shoulders, but tucked a little at the waist.

"Your, uh… gonna actually make this fit me?" Yosuke asked Peach started pulling and tucking the shirt in places.

She giggled in reply. "Not this shirt no, but I will make a brand new one based on your measurements." She stopped and had the teen lift his arms. "Now, do you prefer your shirts being a little loose? Or a little tight?"

"Uhh… loose. Makes me look… not so thin." He paused for a second. "But I like to tuck my shirt in. So… not too loose? Am I making sense Peach-hime?"

"Of course. I've had pickier customers before."

Quickly the blonde had her model pull on the dark colored jeans she brought over. They were much looser in the leg than what Yosuke would consider comfortable. He mentioned that he'd like them to be closer to what he usually wears. Peach jotted these requests down on her memo pad after taking the measurements on how the clothes need to be altered. She did mention though they'd go well with his combat boots he had been wearing.

Peach urged Yosuke to get undressed once more while she started sifting through more clothes. She asked him how he felt about being a little dressier and was met with a response that was more half-whine than anything else. Not quite what she expected to hear. Understanding his hesitation with the idea, she at least attempted to stay within his prefered style.

Reluctantly the brunette took the clothes and inspected them briefly as he tried them on. He was given a white tee that showed off more of his collarbones than the v-neck. In addition Peach had handed him a rust colored overshirt that he wasn't sure how he felt about. The black slacks he was also given were a little too loose for his tastes, just like before. Casually Yosuke untucked the pendant around his neck and let it rest at the collar of his tee.

"I… I guess I could wear this if it was all a little tighter." He mentioned off-handedly. "Though, I look more like an idol than… well, myself. As much as I like the look, it certainly fits Risette more."

Peach started pinching and tugging the fabric again. "Have you ever thought of going into the music business?"

"Briefly? I'm not sure what I want to do when I graduate. I have a talent in playing guitar." He stopped a second, smiling at the turnout of the concert in October. "But Naoto-chan said I'm really good at deduction when it comes to mysteries. So maybe I could try being a detective?"

The blonde smiled as she listened intently. Her small talk did seem to calm the teen down at least. After getting the proper notes for his new outfits Peach ordered Yosuke out of the clothes. At this point is where she gets to the real meat of her job offer. As Smash Mansion holds various events, most that involve crossdressing, Peach is tasked with outfit preparation. She started pulling out various colorful skirts, blouses, and other feminine clothes from her racks. Obvious groaning of protest could be heard.

"Oh, did noone tell you what I needed the model for?" Peach asked as she tilted her head.

Yosuke shook his head. "No, but it's fine. It's not the first time I've been put in a skirt."

The next couple hours would be spent with the blonde having her model try on the clothes. From outfits that _definitely_ reminded Yosuke of Risette, to a couple school uniforms, and even the token maid's outfit. With each outfit the two discussed what could be altered, and where places were a tad too tight. Occasionally Peach would add various accessories to dress up the outfit, but for the most part it was just the fitting.

The last thing Yosuke expected to be placed in was a wedding gown. He shuddered a little at being put in something so specific. The blond explained that she worked with Waluigi from time to time at his bridal boutique. She was literally the only reason all of the dresses weren't purple.

For the brunette the design of the gown was _extremely_ familiar. It was nearly identical to the one back in the Margin World from when he and Yu were determined to be 'destined partners'. There was ruffles on the front that started at his waist and ended just above the ankle. The bodice itself was very plain with only a slight bit of gold trim decorating the chest. That extended from the shoulders down to the midline of the chest in a v-shape. Other than the chest, the only other major difference is that this dress was sleeveless, whereas the doctored photo showed puffy sleeves.

Peach noticed Yosuke's physical discomfort immediately as she placed pins in the fabric. "Yosuke?"

"Get me out of this." His voice was quiet but stern.

"Is there something wrong? Is it hard to breathe?"

"Just take it off!"

Peach furrowed her brows as she set her supplies down. Slowly she unzipped the dress so it wouldn't get damaged. Her eyes followed Yosuke as he walked over to where he had set his clothes and pulled them on quickly. He grabbed his headphones and shoes and left without a word. The princess debated going to grab her phone and call someone, but there wasn't really anyone in the manor the teen could trust. She figured whatever was bothering him would blow over soon enough. The most she could do though was gather his payment to give to him later.

Yosuke himself was rushing down the hall. He needed to distance himself as much as he could from that dress. It wasn't the garment itself that was bothering him. No, it was the memory associated with _him_ in a wedding dress. The Margin World had paired him and Yu up as 'destined partners', with the mechanical voice going even as far to say they were 'where destined partners discuss their love'. Of course he wasn't so much disturbed by him and Yu being compatible (they've been dating for over a month now after all), as much as how he was forced to remember that he was the _second_ guy his silver haired partner was put with.

After a bit of running the brunette slowed down and looked to see he had gotten to the center of the floor. The window to his right offered a good place for him to rest and collect his thoughts. He sat down on the window sill to awkwardly pull his boots on. That feeling in the pit of his stomach making him uneasy. Just knowing that Yu possibly remembers the Margin World as well makes Yosuke feel unsure of his partner's feelings. The other Wild Card had been aloof, but the teen knew that his partner spent most of his time with him. Even when they first went through that damned Group Date Café labyrinth the first time the questions ended up putting the two together. Since his partner had gone back, multiple times, to retake that test there is the only reason Yosuke himself knew about what kind of conversation the two Wild Cards may have had.

Yosuke sighed to himself as he set his headphones around his neck. " _I should probably not let this get to me. Besides, it was all fake anyway… even if Yu did say I looked nice in the dress…"_ He looked at his hands in front of him and furrowed his brows. One was all bandaged up, with an injury that would forever be tattooed to his skin, and the other was littered with those 'freckles' Peach had mentioned. " _I'm hardly visually appealing as it is… Yu's probably going to be freaked out over how I look now… damn it!"_

The brunette sighed once more before standing up. He figured it would be best to find something to snack on while he wastes the rest of the day. At least until another 'job' offer comes in.

* * *

It was sometime in the evening now. The summer sun setting was upon the horizon. Yosuke had picked up his payment from Peach and apologized for his odd behavior. She accepted it and said he is welcome to visit her any time. Not just for helping her either, but to share some tea as well. Now he was sitting in the viewing area spectating a match between R.O.B. and Alph to kill some time. Peach had been his last chance to really make some decent money, aside from Pit's stupid offer, but that was gone now. The brunette was more or less just sulking now, having exhausted all his options.

Tired eyes gazed forward while the match raged on. Just before the timer hit zero Yosuke felt a hand clasp at his shoulder. He turned to look and see Master Hand standing above him. A stern look was present on the Master's face but his golden eyes had a softer look to them.

"Hand-sama?" Yosuke asked quietly.

Desmond motioned for the teen to stand up. With the two at an equal level he speaks. "I know I have distanced myself as to not directly assist you with paying off this debt you have Master Hanamura, but I am capable of bending my own rules."

"What do you mean?"

"Simply put, I seek entertainment." The red haired butler chuckled lightly. "I'm thinking of allowing you to participate in a single Smash battle. I'll allow you to choose your opponent as well."

Shiek was walking by the area quietly as the two spoke about the arrangement. Overhearing the idea of a non-Smasher being given the opportunity to fight was quite the juicy thing to hear. The ninja quickly sprinted off to go find someone to tell this to. The faster the rumor spreads the better. Perhaps that little green-haired Mii would be just the ticket…

Yosuke scratched his head awkwardly as Master explained how the match would work. Smashers loved when a high-stakes match was planned as well. Matches like that always brought in a lot of income via the bets placed. Desmond also joked that if the brunette chose an opponent that wasn't too easy, but also not too hard that the Smashers would bet a LOT more. An odd balance to strike, but the decision was easy when Yosuke was informed that Douglas would be a good bet for an opponent. It helped a little that the teen had a small vendetta against him after yesterday.

"Alright. I'll do it." The brunette says with a cheeky smile. "I'll go get ready."

* * *

It was starting to get close to the time the match between Yosuke and Captain Falcon was expected to start. Many of the Smashers have already gathered to watch and placed their bets. The kinder fighters are placing their money on Yosuke, not only because he is the underdog, but also because they understand the point of the fight. Those that were actually on his side included Peach, Robbi, and Shulk. Some of the more stingy competitors, like Wario, Ganondorf, and Bowser were against him. Most of the Miis have their bets going fifty-fifty on either supporting the teen or the racer.

There was some disparity though amongst those placing votes. Most notably there was Robin. He was going to put his money on the brunette but when he overheard his sister doing that he changed his mind. This was further cemented in when Morgan followed his mother's footsteps as well. Sibling rivalry at it's absolute finest.

Yosuke cracked his neck as he stood waiting outside the simulation room for Falcon and the spectators to arrive. He was fully decked out in the outfit he was wearing when he arrived. The only difference is that he didn't put the heavy coat on, it was just too warm for it. Offhandedly he tossed his kunai into the air before catching it. He smiled when he saw Teddie come into view after placing his money on his friend.

Teddie bounded up next to the teen and hugged him. "Good luck Yosuke! You're going to do your bear-y best right!?"

"You know it Ted." Yosuke replied as he pet the blond's hair. He sighed though as he looked at his bandaged left hand. That will surely leave him at some disadvantage. "Now, go get yourself a seat so you can watch me ok?"

Both were suddenly interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Both males looked and saw Master Hand standing in front of them. There was an air authority around him as he adjusted his collar.

"Master Hanamura." Desmond began, causing Yosuke to stand at attention. "I wish you luck in your fight as well. You are not one of my fighters, so only minimum regulations can be given to you. Mostly to assure you will not die in battle."

"T-thank you…?"

A gloved hand was raised. "Let me finish. These rules are my 'Announcer's Regulation' and the 'KO Rule'. As long as the timer is running, all injuries you sustain in battle will be immediately healed to the state you were in at the beginning of the match if you are KO'd. Do you understand?"

The brunette pursed his lips as he let it sink in. "So… let's say I get my hand burned really bad. If I fall out of bounds it'll be healed when I respawn? I'm getting this straight right Hand-sama?"

Master Hand nodded his head. His golden eyes glanced off and he turned to go back to his Domain. He was leaving because Douglas was showing up for his match fashionably late. Boldly the F-Zero racer greeted the teen once more and gave a firm handshake. Yosuke returning the gesture with a smile.

More fighters were starting to filter into the viewing area. This was truly a high stakes battle due to Douglas' decent rank on the tier list. Yosuke was the obvious underdog due to being an outsider, but many Smashers seem to be rooting for him. He was starting to get butterflies in his stomach knowing what he's up against. Even a couple of the Extras (specifically Chrom and Dunban) were giving a good word for him.

Douglas and Yosuke were directed to the standby chamber. The stage was chosen to be the Omega Palutena's Temple. This was so the goddess and Pit could commentate over the battle. The rules were set to a three stock, no item, six-minute timer match. No one really knew how this match was going to go, so Desmond had instructed Game & Watch to add an extra stock to give Yosuke a fighting chance. Just having two stocks would surely end in the teen's defeat.

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, it was obvious the teen was getting a little nervous. He was accustomed to acting only on orders from Yu. Having to fight and think in the moment was new. Susano-o was also not at full strength, so that very well may affect Yosuke's fighting. He relied heavily on Garudyne, Tentarafoo, and Sukukaja to fight effectively.

" _Alright Yosuke."_ He thought to himself as he and Douglas were ordered into the teleporters. Carefully he rested his headphones on his ears as well. The familiar beat of his music calming him. " _You can do this. If Yu was here, he'd want to see me give it my all. So that's what I'll do. This will be a great story to tell!"_

The two fighters were ready to enter the arena. Mr. Announcer was ready to give the countdown and allow the fighters to have their special entrance. Douglas, of course, was set to come in driving the Blue Falcon. Yosuke didn't even give his introduction any thought before being thrown into the battle.

"THREE!"Mr. Announcer began as Falcon drove onto the field. Yosuke was less fortunate as the machine had him come in from above, a rope tied around his waist before falling to the ground as it breaks. "TWO! ONE! GO!"

Yosuke grumbled at his horrible entrance. That is going to have to be changed so he doesn't hit his face as a battle is about to start. Proudly he spun his kunai so the blades faced away from Falcon.

"SHOW ME YOUR MOVES!" Falcon taunted almost immediately. Was he legit asking for Yosuke to show him how he fought or was this just a Falcon thing before he charged in immediately without a care in the world.

Yosuke honestly should have expected that Falcon would approach him almost immediately. Nothing has changed since the previous games. In fact, from Brawl, Yosuke noticed that Falcon had gotten noticeably worse as a character. Would that reflect in an actual tournament setting though?

"So Pit," Palutena started as the clock began, "how long do you think it will take for the new challenger to lose his first stock?"

"Thirty-two seconds with a knee to the groin!" Pit declared. Oh was the angel showing his bias right off the bat.

Yosuke had jumped out of the way before the dash attack hit him. In his mind, he was already annoyed with the angel. They set him for death so soon. He would find out soon why. Yosuke got the first hit in with the kunai but Falcon's jab would just punch through the kunai and hit him in the face. The brunette groaned at how powerful they are, but what did he expect from the F-Zero racer? His Falcon Punch was so powerful it destroyed a portion of the universe!

After the jab that sent him back, Falcon dashed him again and this time Yosuke wasn't so lucky. Once he was in the air, Falcon followed up with his traditional up air strings. Since Yosuke was inexperienced, he didn't know he could just air dodge or jump out of it. By the time he tried to air dodge, he was off the stage and already at a percent that could kill him. As Pit predicted, Falcon immediately kneed Yosuke in the groin. Yosuke let out a horrid cry as he was sent flying. The attack should not have KOed him but he was already out in thirty-two seconds at the start of the match.

"Wow, Pit you were right!" Palutena exclaimed.

"What terrible DI!" Pit said with a laugh. "It's almost like the extra stock was pointless!"

Falcon was really feeling himself. Yosuke did not know what just happened except that he wanted to quit almost immediately. The brunette thought Chie was bad enough, but this was the F-Zero racer we're talking about.

"Not… a critical hit to my groin…" Yosuke muttered.

"COME ON!" Falcon taunted as he gave the 'come on' gesture in his direction. "Don't let this match end so soon!"

Yosuke was still in great pain after that one kick. Maybe this was the chance to see if he could pause the game after that humiliating stock. The platform would soon give up on him and he would be flashing a few frames. Falcon was waiting to strike him again.

"FALCON…" Falcon began as he prepared to unleash the iconic Falcon Punch...at zero percent. The Smashers could be heard groaning at how pointless it was. Yosuke gasped and jumped away immediately knowing that getting hit with that spelt death...even though he wouldn't die after coming back. "PUNCH!"

The sound of a bird cawing could be heard as he unleashed the punch. It was completely pointless throwing it out. Yosuke was indeed intimidated but noticed how much end lag there was to the attack...like in all games.

" _This is my chance!"_ Yosuke thought as he charged ahead and grabbed him before throwing him in the air. " _Don't underestimate me!"_

Yosuke teleported after throwing Falcon and slammed him into the ground. If Falcon was aware of Yosuke being able to teleport, he might have been able to tech the ground. Yosuke was able to come down after the throw with flying kunai. The racer should be glad Yosuke didn't get him back with impaling him in the groin. Like any sharp object, the kunai hurt especially when impaling him in the kneecaps.

"Oww! Captain Falcon is injured!" Captain Falcon declared.

"Too bad that wasn't an arrow!" Pit exclaimed earning some chuckles in the crowd. Palutena just facepalmed.

"Pit...not now…"

"But memes!" Pit shouted. "Robin gets it!"

In the back of his mind, Robin wanted to stay out of this, but he snickered remembering what the meme was. Shulk was far from pleased. Both out of ignorance to the joke, as well as Pit singling out his boyfriend.

Falcon still showed resilience as he got up despite the kunai stuck in his kneecaps. Yosuke was impressed with what he could get away with in the match. To show how badass he is, Falcon grabbed the kunai from his kneecaps and pulled them out before throwing the kunai away. He smirked despite blood dripping down his kneecaps.

"CAPTAIN FALCON IS OKAY EVEN IF CAPTAIN FALCON IS BLEEDING!"

"... Why are you not serious?" Yosuke had to ask. "You're supposed to be… serious…"

"CAPTAIN FALCON HAS NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT."

It was best to get back to the match before it became a match of who could shout the loudest. Falcon really liked running in with his dash attack. Yosuke was able to catch on and just stayed in shield. Yosuke would then counter with a three hit jab. A slice forward, a slice upward, and then jumping back for a third hit thus preventing Falcon from punishing him. Yosuke knew he could bring this back. However, Falcon still came at him. He didn't dash this time. He ran past Yosuke and pivot grabbed him before throwing him into the ground. He was able to hit him upward again with nair before grabbing Yosuke again. Chain grabs weren't in this game but Falcon made himself look like the Ice Climbers.

"Falcon looking like the Ice Climbers." Pit joked. "Too bad he can't wobble."

"Too bad they're not even here." Palutena snarked.

"Blame the 3DS. I mean, people can just be dumb and vote for them to come back in the ballot… but ...since Sakurai said no… "

"Pit, mind the audience and the salt."

"Sorry Lady Palutena."

"… _I could go for some Dr. Salt right about now… damn you for making me thirsty!"_ Yosuke thinks as he falls face first on the ground. " _I need to bring this back…"_

Yosuke got back up and knocked Falcon away before he could start pounding him into the ground. The brunette just needed one good read to turn things around. His usual tactics revolved around using his Persona, but at this rate, he was going to lose another stock just from being distracted.

The brunette was lucky that Falcon got careless with his movement. His combo game was great, but one good read and he would be off stage. Charging up his forward smash, Yosuke unleashed Brave Blade that created a huge X in front of him. Because it covered in front of him and in the air, Falcon could not easily cancel the move out. His Falcon Kick wasn't able to hit him, so he was sent flying. It wasn't enough to kill him, but Yosuke wasn't going to let this opportunity slide. He needed to take the lead now.

"TAKE THIS!"

Yosuke leaped off the stage and spiked Falcon with Garudyne. The move functioned similar to Robin's Elwind in that it propelled Yosuke back onto the stage. The major difference was that there was only one huge wind gust that pushed Falcon down to the blast zone and Yosuke had difficulties angling the Garudyne. There was no sweetspot on Garudyne though. If you got hit from the bottom, you were going to get spiked.

" _Alright, one stock down. I can do this."_

"Ehhh, that looks a lot like Elwind." Pit commented.

"Pit, if anyone were to join, they got to take the data from another Smasher to be put in. Why do you think certain grab animations look similar to one another?"

"Err...clones?"

In the distance, Dark Pit was probably telling Pit to piss off for that comment.

Falcon wasn't going to let one spike get to him. He would just do it right back to him since the F-Zero racer had so many ways of disrespecting the brunette. He grinned sheepishly knowing he was going to have a good challenge now that Yosuke was fighting back after the first pointless stock. Yosuke was in kill percentage, so he was going to need to be more careful. The student heard Pit address something he shouldn't know about.

"Hey Lady Palutena, what's that green line above his percent?"

"That's the Spirit Points gauge." The Goddess of Light explained. "It allows Hanamura to use the wind magic you saw now."

"Ah."

"It might have been better to explain this first then commentating on the frame data of the attack."

"I thought I was talking about copy and paste moves…"

"Regardless, the SP gauge allows Hanamura to channel power from his inner psyche and activate wind magic. Most of his abilities will come off from using magic. Should it empty out, Hanamura won't be able to use any wind based attack."

"And that means…"

"He won't be able to recover back on the stage and any attack that uses his wind moves won't work. Fortunately, his SP charges back up slowly once it does hit zero, but he better hope that he's using his moves wisely. It will also slowly go up every time a non-wind attack connects."

Yosuke wanted to know how these two knew about his powers. It started to creep him out, but at the very least he knew how they worked here. What else could he use here without wasting his SP?

Captain Falcon was back in his face again. Yosuke took advantage of his speed and retreated, but Falcon's speed matched his at the moment. He just needed to speed up…

Yosuke quickly spun around creating a tornado similar to Meta Knight (and proving Pit's point earlier about copycat data). Being the fool he was, Falcon ran into the tornado expecting to hit his opponent out of it. Tornados would not break from a man dashing forward and ended up sucking him into the center of said tornado. The attack did the same amount of damage as Meta Knight's tornado except once the attack was done, Falcon was sent upwards. Yosuke needed to stop spinning due to getting dizzy from his own attack (and it didn't do this before). Falcon wasn't as dazed and came down and stomped on Yosuke causing him to be slammed into the ground. If only he didn't tech would he have been able to avoid Falcon's forward smash. His elbow of fire was incredibly powerful and that should have been the stock. Unlike the first stock, Yosuke was able to DI at the right moment. He attempted to make it back on the stage with Garudyne, but Falcon was waiting for him. Because Yosuke missed sweetspotting the ledge, Falcon simply up tilted and smacked Yosuke in the face sending him downward and causing him to lose a stock thus making the stock count even.

Pit grinned seeing the attack come out. He recalled how Shulk attempted to make it back on stage and was met with a boot to the head while he pummeled to his death. Palutena glanced at the angel confused at why he was happy that Yosuke met the same fate.

Yosuke let out a pathetic whine while he was brought back to the stage. He felt the boot, but it was nothing compared to the shadows that had attacked him in the past. He was on his last stock, and after working so hard to get rid of that last one...he needed to end this now.

"COME ON!"

Yosuke glared at his opponent as he immediately activated Sukujaja. How long would it last in Smash? He would have to find out.

The brunette was glowing a bright green color now. He felt his body was even lighter than before. Falcon didn't know what to expect when Yosuke was able to charge him with blinding speed and grab him. He threw him onto the ground and immediately followed up with a wind tornado. The attack sent Falcon upward again, but Yosuke was ready for Falcon to come down with an attack again. Moving a little ways underneath Falcon, he sent two tornados upward using a lot of SP in the process. The F-Zero racer had difficulties landing with the dair and was sent upward again. Attempting to air dodge the second batch of wind tornados did Falcon no justice, so all Falcon could do was jump away to land thus resetting the game back to neutral. Yosuke wouldn't be able to spam up smash a third time due to the low SP. He needed to save it so he could recover. Attempting a down smash also had the same result of nothing coming out due to insufficient SP. This left him wide open to a dash attack that led to a pair of up air strings. Captain Falcon waited for the air dodge before using his nair kick to knock him away. Yosuke wasn't off stage but he close to the ledge. He rolled out of the way before Falcon tried to kick him. At this point, the spell wore off.

"Eh, there's no cooldown?" Pit asked.

"Sukukaja doesn't last as long as Lightweight, so that's probably why he isn't slow." Palutena told him. "How lucky of him."

"Well Lady Palutena, you can just Lightweight cancel on the platform, so…"

Pit shivered feeling Palutena's intense stare directed at him. Hopefully Master Hand didn't hear that or he might actually patch that up the next time the new fighters show up.

Yosuke growled as he quickly did a V Crescent attack to challenge Falcon's Raptor Boost. Both moves clashed but Yosuke was able to jump away before Falcon could punish him. He didn't complete the attack this time and that meant he wouldn't end up behind Falcon. He knew a down smash was coming and forced himself to shield before punishing with another grab and throwing Falcon off the stage. He didn't bother chasing Falcon though as he activated Sukukaja again. Now he was out of SP and couldn't recover meaning that he had to make this attack count before Falcon decided to counter him and throw him off the stage.

Yosuke waited for Falcon to recover before poking him with his down tilt. Falcon had to recover again, so Yosuke attempted to hit above him when Falcon tried to jump off the ledge and was successful. He quickly hopped up and spun around with the kunai in his hand. Falcon was knocked off the stage again. The third time Yosuke tried to edge guard him resulted in Falcon recovering with a wall jump and then back airing him to the side.

Falcon was able to make it back on the stage but Sukukaja was almost used up leaving Yosuke in a defenseless stage if he didn't act soon. Fortunately, there was enough for him to use the spell again when Yosuke tried to grab Falcon but lost to his jab. He cursed to himself at how good the jab was and wondered if he should jab more often. Once the spell wore off, he only had enough to activate Sukukaja one more time or to use the tornado. Falcon kicking him forced him to make a decision.

The match was coming down the wire now. Falcon and Yosuke were both at a high percentage on their last stock. Both were participating in a stare-down trying to figure out what to do. The clock was ticking and there wasn't much time to deliberate on tactics.

The teen took a breath before activating Sukukaja again. Yosuke just let instinct take over as he started rushing towards the F-Zero racer.

" _Alright Susano-o. Don't fail me now!"_

Channeling all his willpower into connecting with his Persona, the brunette stopped just before reaching Falcon. Immediately though he hit him with Brave Blade causing him to go flying towards the leftmost blast zone. Yosuke didn't waste time double jumping into the air before using Moonsault for a little extra distance. He met his opponent halfway in the air and the teen prepared for a risky move.

" _Kamikaze_!" Yosuke shouted as he slashed both his kunai up Douglas' chest. The upward momentum from the strike coupled with a boost from his wind powers lifting him above his opponent. The brunette did a quick backflip before redirecting his powers to cause him to go flying down. His feet connected with Falcon's face. " _Strike_!"

Everyone watching the match were dumbfounded as this last-ditch effort was causing both fighters to go flying towards the bottom blast zone. They were moving so quickly that Pit and Palutena didn't even have a chance to comprehend what happened before Mr. Announcer yelled 'GAME!'. Silence overtook the viewing area as everyone tried to figure out who just won the battle.

Peach, Teddie, and Dr. Mario rushed over to the transporters to see who steps out first. Falcon was the first to emerge, utterly spent from the match. Yosuke following suit only a second later, staggering out from the energy he just used.

Teddie rushed up to his friend and hugged him tightly. The brunette took the hint of course and pet the blond's hair gently, reassuring him he was ok. Yosuke redirected his gaze to see Douglas giving him a thumbs up as he was escorted away by the doctor. Peach was smiling gently as well as Desmond walked into the room.

"Congratulations Master Hanamura." Master Hand complimented. "Your risky maneuver guided you to a masterful victory. Your winnings of course and being transfered to help alleviate some of that debt you have."

"T-thank you." Yosuke replies with a pained smile.

Peach walked over and gently rested her hands on the brunette's shoulders. He winced a little but his aches were soon alleviated as the princess healed him a little with her abilities. After making sure any damage sustained during the fight was no longer a major concern, the blonde reccomended Yosuke goes to visit the hot springs to relax. He agreed it would be for the best for him to go down there.

* * *

About an hour later Yosuke finally found himself at the Mr. Saturn Hot Spring once more. The steam was definitely not as thick as the last time he was there, making it a bit easier to see. Pit, Shulk, and Robin were already relaxing in the bath by the time the teen arrived. He laughed a little to himself as he heard the blond arguing with the angel over something or another. Quietly he entered the water and gently pushed aside wading Mr. Saturns, trying not to grab too much attention. Robin of course noted his presence.

"Good evening Yosuke." The tactician comments as the teen takes a seat across from him. "Congratulations on your win."

"Thanks Robin-san." Yosuke returned with a smile. Pit and Shulk cease their bickering to acknowledge his presence as well. "I must admit, I think I have a new respect for you guys. Being able to fight like that. I'm used to being in combat, but thinking how to attack on the fly isn't really my thing y'know?"

Pit sticks out his tongue. "At least you managed to kick Falcon's ass! I didn't actually think you could do it!"

"I saw it coming." Shulk joked slightly. A snide grin crossing his face as he looked at the angel. "I personally don't like going for suicide tactics, but you pulled that off flawlessly."

The brunette flushed a little at the compliment. He would have mentioned that most of the magic was from his Persona, but aside from Pit he didn't think they'd understand. Instead he tried to change the subject.

"So, why are you guys here again tonight?" He asked offhandedly.

"I never miss an opportunity of soaking in a hot spring!" Pit declared with a ruffle of his feathers. "It's not just because it's relaxing, but they actually heal us angels!"

"I merely wanted to relax personally. Convincing Shulk to tag along was the main problem." Robin admitted. "Either way, since we're changing subjects. I must ask Yosuke. What's it like where you live?"

"W-well…" He hesitated. What should he say? What needs to be omitted? How does he talk about himself? "It's kind of hard to explain. I mean, I'm just a teenager."

Shulk pressed the question. "Well, do you do anything besides school? If you still go to school at your age that is."

"Well, yeah of course I have to go to school. It's either get a good education so I can get into some university or be stuck as the fucking 'Prince of Junes' the rest of my life."

" _Prince?"_ Robin thinks to himself. " _He doesn't look like royalty. Perhaps he prefers to be with the common people compared to the upper class?"_

"What about that Teddie person?" Shulk asks.

Yosuke stopped. "He's kind of a brother to me I guess. Both of us have to listen to my dad anyway. The people in Inaba love him though, so I can't complain about being associated with him I guess."

Pit pretended to yawn. "Boring! What I want to know about is who you're seeing! Come on, I know you've got someone wrapped around your finger."

A dark blush covered the teen's face instantly. He was so flustered he couldn't even sputter out an answer. It didn't help that the angel continued to press his point by making a pass at Robin to help prove his point. All the while earning a glare out of Shulk. Yosuke of course half-assed a response about his relationship being with his best friend. He avoided going into the details really, but did mention the relationship has only be going for only about a month.

"Out with it already." Pit insisted as he leaned forward. "Tell us what it was like!"

"Pit, you pervert." Robin chastised with a smirk.

Shulk huffed out a cheek as well, annoyed with the angel's behavior. "Don't you know it's rude to ask someone something like that? Who honestly needs to know who's shagged who? Furthermore, why do you need to know how it _felt_?"

"We're all guys here, it's just us talking. Besides, you have to be curious. Now, out with it Yosuke!" Pit insisted.

There was no way he was getting out of that one.

Yosuke sighed as he tried to answer. "Well, it wasn't really anything special. If anything it was just awkward and uncomfortable. Stupid teenager stuff. Not having lube didn't help matters…"

"You're turning red." Shulk commented bluntly.

Abruptly the teen stood from the water. He grasped at his towel to keep it from falling off and told the other guys he was done talking. Quickly Yosuke bid them all a good night and rushed out. Staying there with Pit and his perverted questions wasn't exactly his idea of a relaxing bath.

* * *

It took about another ten minutes for Yosuke to trek back to his room. Most of it was because of his awkward half-limp. The brunette had ended up twisting his ankle while leaving the hot springs. Regardless he ended up back in the room and almost just went straight for the bed.

Teddie was already in the room just rolling on the floor to pass the time. As soon as his friend walked in he quickly sat up. "Yosuke! Did you enjoy your bath!?"

"I would have if I spent maybe another five minutes there but oh well." The teen laughed awkwardly as he started preparing to get to bed. "Still no word from Yu or the others?" He was met with a shake of the head. "Damn…"

Teddie tilted his head as he watched the other mill about. He could sense that he was really tired from that fight. Not having a direct connection to his Persona probably being the main cause other than the fight. He tried to remain positive though, saying that the battle was really cool.

Yosuke laughed tiredly. "It would have been better if it paid off that damn debt. For some reason though it just wasn't enough. I have, like, a fifth left. So obviously I'm down about that." He stopped to take a breath as he flopped onto the bed. "Then I haven't heard from Yu at all. I can't tell any more if it's from a lack of signal, or him not trying."

The blond stood up and got closer to Yosuke's half of the room. "What do you mean Yosuke?"

"I mean that Yu might not even know we're gone!" He stopped after that statement to keep himself from crying. "It's going to be four days tomorrow since we've gotten here. And yet, I haven't gotten a single message from Yu, or Chie, or Yukiko-san. They might be back in Inaba and just think we're stuck in the TV world… I'm worried they might forget about us."

A tense silence filled the room for a moment. Teddie pouted as he crawled onto Yosuke's bed and laid next to him.

"Sensei and the others won't forget us! I'm sure of it!" Always the optimist the blond is. "I know Sensei wouldn't leave us behind! I'm too cute to leave behind and you're…" He hesitated trying to think of something.

"I'm what?"

"You're Yosuke! Sensei cares a lot about you!"

That was probably the nicest thing Teddie could have said in this situation. He was horrible with words, but somehow he brought comfort to the brunette. In order to continue being helpful he took Yosuke's injured hand in his carefully. He focused really hard to connect with Kamui to try and heal him the best he could. Unfortunately, much like the teen himself, due to the lack of connection the most the blond could do was relieve the pain.

Yosuke sighed to himself as he muttered out other ways he could possibly pay off what he owes. There wasn't much left in terms of job offers. He really hated coming to terms with having to take up that offer Pit gave him yesterday. Quietly he curses himself on how he continues to live up to being the 'Prince of Disappointment'.

"I can't even live up to my own damn name. I'm supposed to be that guy that helps people, but either they don't want my help, or I just screw it up." Yosuke complained, mostly to himself. "I'm a fucking Hanamura too, it's just sort of my family's _thing_ to be helpful to others."

Teddie pulls Yosuke's hand close to his chest. "Hey Yosuke."

"Huh?"

"When you say you're 'a Hanamura', and that they're your family… what does that mean exactly?"

The brunette hesitated. He's never really had to explain what a family is to anyone. To be fair, he should have expected something like that to come out of the bear. "Well, we just sorta look out for each other I guess. Like, mom and dad take care of me and make sure I'm happy. And, I guess it's my job to keep the family going and give our name a good reputation? It's complicated to explain Ted."

"You also said you can't 'live up to your own name'. What does that mean?"

"Always with the questions huh? It's hard to explain that too. Like, my parents gave me a name that they say is supposed to define who I am as I grow up. For me that's being a free-spirited guy that helps those in need. It's like how your name is associated with bears I guess. Even if you gave yourself that name."

Teddie fell quiet again as he curled up in himself a little. "Is Teddie a helpful bear?"

Yosuke paused for a second before smiling. "Of course you are. I would have lost it by now if you weren't around. 'Sides, I have to look after you too. You're my little bro."

"Little bro?"

"You know, like how Nanako-chan calls Yu 'big bro' all the time, except I'm the 'big bro' between us. You're basically family to me. Tell you what. When we get back to Inaba, I'll talk to mom and dad about making you an official part of the Hanamura family. Ok?"

Teddie smiled brightly as a response before hugging Yosuke close. He uttered 'thank you' after 'thank you'. Just knowing that being part of someone's family was a possibility for him made him feel like he was no longer alone. The kindness displayed to him was truly genuine. Yosuke himself sighed a little as the pain in his hand started to come back since the blond let go of it. Of course Teddie picked up on that and promised to stay helpful all night by holding the brunette's hand so it wouldn't hurt anymore.

Quietly the teen nodded before pushing his headphones onto his ears and turning the music on. As much as he appreciated Teddie's enthusiasm he felt the need to zone out with his music. At least he'd fall asleep quickly. He was simply too exhausted to keep his eye's open anymore. The two bid each other a goodnight before Yosuke nodded off for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. In case you haven’t really picked it up by now, either by the tags or what have you, the running gag of the check-ins is Yu and the others (99% Yu though) interacting with the girls from Huniepop. Yes, the next check-in will have one too.
> 
> 2\. Babysitting the Koopalings is the common odd job of the Mansion. Bowser’s a busy guy and there’s eight kids that need to be watched. Yosuke wasn’t going to say no.
> 
> 3\. Most of the people I asked agreed that any common mortal would probably find themselves swooning over the Kid Icarus Goddesses and Phosphora (since she seems to be some demigoddess), some might just fall into the temptation more than others. Teddie is immune to the effect due to not being human.
> 
> 4\. Yes, I know that technically Yosuke is supposed to not have that lightning weakness if he has Susano-o, but for the story purposes, it works better if he still had it. Besides, I’m not the first person to gloss over this.
> 
> 5\. Yes, I DID bring up Yosuke’s nurse fetish :3c
> 
> 6\. The specific reason I mention the overalls belong to Luigi is because based on what I’ve been able to look up, Luigi is supposed to be 5’9”. Depending on how you look at it, Yosuke’s height is on the cusp of 5’8”-5’9” (it’s listed as 175cm in Arena which calculates to around 5’8.8 inches). So really it just works for height.
> 
> 7\. The battle was written by my co-author GintaxAlvissForever. I should learn how to write these things but I don’t play competitive Smash. Also, please keep in mind that my Captain Falcon is kind of based on how ProtonJon interprets him, so MAXIMUM HAM
> 
> Ginta: Dude, you literally asked me to do research on P4Arena. I only watch Smash Brothers, Killer Instinct and sometimes Ultimate Marvel versus Capcom 3. It’s not easy literally writing Yosuke as a Smash character even though I have totally done this in the past with the Star Ocean 3 characters. 
> 
> Ari: Well, you still know how to write Smash Battles than I do… so shush! Besides, I helped with the research thing.
> 
> 8\. In case you don’t know, Kamikaze Strike is the most powerful physical wind-based attack Yosuke naturally learns in Persona Q. Considering he’s got very low HP, even with a Sub-Persona it’s a very high risk-versus-reward move if you don’t have much of a strategy to heal him.
> 
> 9\. Also, you may be asking “why Falcon?”. Well, it was a matter of balancing fun versus challenge. If we had pit Yosuke against a high tier character like Rosalina, or Sheik, they would have mopped the floor with him, literally. His speed means nothing to them. Yet, if we had gone for a mid tier character like Robin or a low tier character Mac would have been just as unfair, especially Mac. So, we had to just balance it out. Besides, my Douglas is such a ham that it make the scene funnier.
> 
> 10\. Before this gets confusing in future stories. Kamui is both the name of Teddie’s Ultimate Persona (The one gotten by reaching Rank 10 of the Social Link) as well as the name I have given my female Corrin. So… yeah.
> 
> 11\. I’ve tried to look up as much as I could for this, and as with many Japanese names there’s a lot of different meanings. While Yosuke’s name can mean things having to do with a free-spirit, there is also an interpretation that is something akin to someone who likes to help. So that’s why I put that little thing in there.
> 
> 12\. This note doesn’t really apply to this chapter but instead the last one. I TOTALLY forgot Yosuke doesn’t like fish, like, period. So, uh, let’s just say that he only ate it because there was nothing else in the fridge? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	4. The Reversed Chariot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter I'm sorry. Also, this is the chapter with the dubcon warning, so please take heed of that.

_Chapter 4: The Reversed Chariot_  
  
**July 19, 2015  
**   
It was finally the morning of the fourth day and the sky has turned dark with clouds. Rain was expected to fall at any moment, and that just makes Yu’s search for his beloved partner even worse. He and Yukiko had gone off in a separate direction from Chie and Kanji to go look for the remaining members of the team with them all agreeing to meet at the Central Park. The silver haired leader was in not much condition to go too far off after carrying that Audrey girl’s shopping bags for a little more than six hours yesterday. No amount of Dia could cure sore muscles (not that Yukiko could summon Amaterasu in the first place). With the weather turning bad, it was even less of a good idea to be wandering an unknown city in vague attempt of seeing a familiar face.   
  
During the search, Yu had ended up being a temporary guide for a cat girl with golden eyes and red hair. She had been on her way to her ‘Master’s house’ but had gotten lost in the city. She begged, and begged, and _begged_ for him to guide her to somewhere she knew before the rain hit. Because she was cute and sweet like Nanako (and a cat) the leader just couldn’t refuse. Curse his nice guy tendencies.   
  
After dropping the cat girl off at the entryway of an apartment complex they were stopped by a busty blonde that was at least double Yu’s age. She latched onto the leader quickly and pretended to not even see Yukiko. Her breath smelt of booze and nicotine, a combination all too familiar for Yu. She offered him lunch (insisting they go now before her next shift) and even a little something ‘extra’ for when she got off work. In the most polite way he could he turned her down. He said he had plans to meet with his friends in an hour. That, and he was from out of town. Anything to get back to looking for Yosuke and Teddie. The blonde pouted but still kissed the silver-haired teen’s cheek before strutting off. Quite the odd encounter to say the least.   
  
When the duo finally met back up with Chie and Kanji they were relieved to see their idol and detective friends with them. Rise did not hesitate to run up to hug Yu the moment she saw him just to show how much she missed him. Naoto had merely smiled seeing that most of the group is together and unharmed. Everyone decided to gather under one of the nearby gazebos just in case the rain started.   
  
Naoto was deeply lost in thought as the others attempted to catch up. “No one has heard anything from Yosuke-senpai I will take it?” She was met with quiet nods. In particular she noticed Yu tense up at the mention of his partner’s name. “Knowing senpai, he would have established contact with one of us under normal circumstance.”   
  
“Nothing about what’s happened is normal though.” Rise protested. “We don’t even know where we are!”   
  
The detective remained calm despite the outburst. “I am aware Rise-san. We cannot rule out the possibility that he has attempted though.” She paused to glance at the group once more. “Seeing as we all landed in groups of two in three separate locations, I should be able to safely suspect that Yosuke-senpai landed in a fourth location with Teddie.”   
  
Yu perked up suddenly as something came to mind. “Yukiko and I landed in an area just north of the city center. Chie and Kanji were downtown, and you and Rise landed at the beach.”   
  
Chie nodded as she bumped her fist into her palm. “That’s right! I saw a map of the city too when we were following that girl yesterday. Our locations were in the three major areas, and we’re in the fourth. Yet, still no sign of Yosuke and Teddie.”   
  
“That would mean they landed somewhere outside the city.” The leader added before going quiet. _“If… they are even in this place at all. What if they got back to Inaba? How long have we been gone then if that’s the case? Does my Uncle know we’re gone? He wouldn’t hesitate to conduct a full investigation if I went missing.”_   
  
The leader’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice suddenly speaking to him. Chie’s to be specific now that he was paying attention.   
  
“- where we should look?”   
  
Yu blinked and shook his head. Good job spacing out Narukami. “Can you say that again? I wasn’t listening, sorry.”   
  
Chie smiled, it wasn’t everyday their perfect leader just stopped paying attention. “I had asked if you had any idea where we should look for Yosuke and Teddie.”   
  
Right. It makes sense she was asking that. The leader lowered his head and closed his eyes to think. “We don’t know much about the surrounding area outside this city. It would be best to take a train or other type of transit to take us out of here to search the next closest area. It would be too far to walk.”   
  
The rest of the Investigation Team nodded their heads in agreement. Yukiko could be heard quietly mentioning that there had been bus stops scattered sporadically through the city. Yet, no one recalled where the closest one was. They had been so busy looking for their friends, that paying attention to the city itself was nothing but afterthought.   
  
Unlike the cloudy skies, luck shined brightly on the team however. As soon as Rise even mentioned looking for a bus one pulled up near the edge of the park. There was a logo on the side, but no one paid it mind as the door opened to reveal a small, lime green haired man. Naoto quickly identified him as a Mii.   
  
Kanji turned his head away from the group and glared. “Now, ain’t that some convenient timin’?” He asked a hypothetical audience.   
  
Yukiko tilted her head. “Did you say something Kanji-kun?”   
  
While the two attempted to converse over Kanji’s ability to break the fourth wall, Naoto began questioning the Mii driver. He didn’t ever answer her questions of ‘where does this bus go’, ‘where are we’, and ‘do you understand us’. Rather, to each one he answered with ‘Buttons!’ joyfully before extending out his hand, asking for payment.   
  
Naoto and Yu exchanged confused glances. They didn’t have much of a choice other than getting on the bus and hoping the Mii will lead them to the last missing teammates. The tiny detective turned to motion for the others to follow as their leader paid the fare for the group of six. How he had so much money was beyond everyone.   
  
Everyone settled towards the front seats. Except for Yu, he went towards the middle and sat alone. While he didn’t exactly prefer to be alone (having lived alone for so long and was getting used to living with close company) he felt he needed the space to let his mind wander. He didn’t want to space out again. Chie and the others expected him to _always_ be composed. This impromptu detour was starting to bring out the cracks in his mask. Worry pulsed through him, all sorts of thoughts bouncing in his head of what could have happened to his partner. Of course Yosuke was capable of taking care of himself, for the most part, but there was also Teddie to worry about.   
  
Taking a deep sigh the leader let his thoughts go back to the possibility of Yosuke and Teddie being in Inaba once more. Having been the last two to leave, it was certainly believable. That just pressed the question, what if the rest of the Investigation Team were unable to return? There was no indication of where they were, just a nameless city populated by mostly nameless faces. It reminded the poor teen of all his years alone, the feeling of no one knowing his name and him not knowing theirs terrified him. He didn’t want to admit that his mind was wandering to the idea that some cosmic power wanted to torture him by having him live out his worst nightmare.   
  
_“Four days is just too long…”_ Yu thought to himself. 

* * *

  
Back at the Smash Mansion, Yosuke is quietly treading down the hall of the fourth floor. His headphones are set much louder than what would ever be considered healthy, and some of the Smashers he’s passed have noted he looks exhausted. None bothered to question his lack of energy though, they all assumed it was from that close battle yesterday.   
  
Quietly the teen finally reached the door that had Pit’s name next to it. He shut off his music first before lifting his fist to knock on the door. He stopped for a second and started to put his hand down before lifting it again and placing it against the door. He did the motion once more before exhaling a tense breath and finally knocking.   
  
Pit answered less than a minute later, his hair slightly messed up and Laurel Crown not even present.   
  
“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Yosuke asked quietly, hiding his face in the collar of the shirt he borrowed from Dunban.   
  
The angel merely stretched his back and fluffed his wings as he answered. “Yeah, you did. It’s fine though, I’m used to Lady Palutena waking me up randomly just to send me on missions.” Pit tried to joke but it seemed to fall flat when he noticed the teen was avoiding eye contact. “Uh, so I’ll take it you’re not here for small talk.”   
  
Yosuke took a deep breath and let it out, taking his headphones off his ears. “I really, _really_ don’t want to ask this but… is that offer you made still valid Pit-san?”   
  
“Offer…?” Pit whispered as he tried to think about what he was being asked before it came back to him. “Oh! Yeah, of course it is. Come on in.”   
  
All the angel received as a response was a half nod from the brunette. He made sure he was inside his room before closing the door. He figured since he wasn’t planning on having company for a few hours it would be ok to leave it unlocked. After making sure the door was closed he turned around to see Yosuke by his bed setting his headphones on the nightstand. A cheshire cat grin crosses his face as he watches.  
  
Casually, Pit comes up behind Yosuke and wraps his arms around his waist. He could feel the teen tense under his touch. Standing on his toes, the angel whispers that the teen has nothing to worry about. He turns him around to face him before dragging him onto the bed with him.  
  
Pit casually helps move Yosuke to a central position on the bed before starting to unbutton the shirt he was wearing and attacking his collarbone. He suddenly felt a hand tugging at his hair though, pulling him away. The angel tilted his head as he looked into Yosuke’s eyes.   
  
“Don’t do that.” Yosuke warned calmly. “Only my partner gets to do that.”   
  
Pit huffs a out a cheek in annoyance. He actually enjoys leaving red splotches on people. He’ll just settle for giving Peach some ideas later to satiate her curious mind. Since he couldn’t leave hickeys, he decides that instead he would just be a major tease. Casually he undoes the rest of the buttons and slides the fabric down Yosuke’s shoulders, revealing the slightly scarred skin underneath.   
  
The angel licked his lips as he admired the teen’s chest. “So, what changed your mind about my offer?”   
  
Yosuke took a second to answer. “Well, why don’t you tell me how else I’m supposed to earn fourteen hundred yen in less than three days Pit-san?”   
  
Clearly Pit was not amused at the comment, even if Yosuke didn’t exactly mean to sound sarcastic. He’ll probably find a way to retaliate against it shortly. In the meanwhile he acted like he didn’t hear the teen and started working on undoing the belt on his pants and pulling the garments down.   
  
“So you’re positive about me doing this?” Pit asks as he tosses Yosuke’s pants away and spreads his legs.   
  
The teen turns his head away, too embarrassed to see what Pit is doing. “I don’t have any other choice at this point. I have to take what I’m offered.”   
  
“Well, don’t come crying to me if you end up regretting this.” The angel taunts with a slight pout on his face.   
  
Yosuke didn’t respond to the comment. Despite the moral ambiguity that comes with the territory, Pit decided to take the lack of a straight answer as his sign to continue. He calmly took the teen’s cock in his hand and gave it a couple experimental strokes. A quiet moan could be heard before Yosuke pressed his injured hand against his mouth. As Pit continued to stroke his dick he bit into the bandaging wrapped around his wrist.   
  
The angel continued to tease as Yosuke fell backwards on the bed. Calloused fingers wrapped around the shaft and Pit’s thumb teasing the tip. The teen continued to bite into the material of the bandaging. His teeth lightly puncturing the rayon fabric in his attempt to keep quiet. Based on his expression Pit had to wonder if he was enjoying this, or if it was torture.   
  
After a couple minutes of the quiet teasing Pit finally grew bored and wanted to get to the main action. Without much of a care he grabbed Yosuke by the legs to flip him over. The teen let out a surprised yelp at the sudden change but didn’t protest. Pit could hear him whimpering quietly as he pressed the tip of his own cock against Yosuke’s entrance.   
  
“I’m giving you one more chance to back out of this.” The angel says calmly as he rubs a comforting circle on Yosuke’s thigh.   
  
The teen just gripped the sheets he was laying on tightly as he spoke. “Just put it in dammit! The sooner you finish the sooner I get out of here…”   
  
Pit bit his cheek and shrugged. Yosuke can’t say the angel didn’t give him the chance to back out of this. Seeing as how he was commanded to get things rolling Pit went ahead and forced his cock inside without any warning or preparation. He stopped for a second when he heard the teen cry out at the sudden penetration. The angel watched carefully for Yosuke to release his tight grip on the sheets as his body adjusted to the dick inside him.   
  
It didn’t take very long for Pit to start with a very fast pace once he was able to determine Yosuke was situated. If he wasn’t totally aware of the teen’s past he would have assumed he was a virgin. That wasn’t the case of course, but the angel didn’t really care. Trying to ease the tension he continued to rub the somewhat caring circles into Yosuke’s thigh as he pounded into him.   
  
Pit chuckled a little as he tried to adjust his hold on the teen’s hip. “This would probably go a lot smoother if I had something to properly squeeze and hold on to.”   
  
“Fuck you.” Yosuke hisses as he feels the angel’s dick prod at his prostate. “The last thing I want to hear about right now is my weight.”   
  
A roll of the eyes was the only response Pit could give at that time. To ‘retaliate’ for the rude comment he moved the hand that had been rubbing circles. Instead of the more gentle gesture he opted to off-handedly slap Yosuke’s ass. He smirked when he feel the teen jump and let out a strained moan. After doing so the angel moved his hand again to start rubbing the teen’s dick. It was completely saturated in pre-cum as well.   
  
Pit lightly teased the tip as he slowly picked up the pace. Neither of them were going to last much longer at this rate.

Yosuke had attempted to drown out the voices in the room even if it was mostly his own. How pathetic of him to be moaning like some needy bitch because someone else’s dick was inside him. It wasn’t even Yu’s and he was still a moaning mess. He shouldn’t be feeling this good, but he was moving his hips to match with Pit’s rhythm. The angel was very pleased with Yosuke’s movement and moved a little faster before slowing down. He was very close.  
  
“Ahhh...Robin…”   
  
If Pit wasn’t drowning in the pleasure, he would have realized the slip of the tongue. Yosuke heard it and brought him back to reality. Something inside him stirred when he finally climaxed. Try as he might to keep it down the teen still ended up moaning out his partner’s name. He felt ashamed of himself for letting it come to this but whined as Pit pulled out of him slowly.   
  
The angel turned Yosuke around once more and wiped a stray tear at the corner of his eyes.

* * *

  
Robin was just outside Pit’s room, on his way to visit said angel for his reading lesson that morning. He had heard some rumors during breakfast about how Yosuke seemed to be wandering this way but didn’t give it any merit. In a manor of over fifty people, plus many guests, baseless rumors started all the time. Something as simple as the temporary guest meandering towards Pit’s room just didn’t really seem plausible.   
  
Reaching the door to Pit’s room he didn’t bother knocking but opened it slowly while announcing his presence quietly, in case the angel was asleep. He usually did that as Pit rarely had company and told Robin it was okay to come in without knocking. The tactician dropped the book he was carrying though when he saw what was going on. Pit was straddling a completely naked Yosuke. The teen was totally flushed and both were aware of Robin being in the room hearing the book hitting the floor.   
  
“Pit.” The mage started, placing a hand to his forehead in confusion. “What the hell!?”   
  
The angel scrambled off of Yosuke and covered his groin area with a nearby pillow. “You weren’t supposed to be here for another hour!”   
  
The two adults started to bicker with each other over the situation before Robin. Yosuke wanted no part in it and threw his pants on as fast he could before he grabbed his shirt and headphones and rushed past the mage to leave. He didn’t even take his current awkward state of dress into consideration as he rushed back towards the fifth floor. He just needed to get away from Pit’s room as fast as his feet would carry him.

* * *

  
Yosuke cursed quietly to himself when he saw Robin enter his room. It’s only been about ten minutes or so since he left Robin and Pit to whatever they were going to argue about. He was in such misery and despair that he completely forgot to lock the door when he got back. The first thing he even did when he got into the room was place his headphones on his ears and crawl onto the bed. From there he just sat with his arms wrapped around his legs, trying to make himself as small as humanly possible. His bitter mood was still evident to the mage though. Lips pursed in a hard line, tired eyes half closed in irritation, and music still being played inhumanly loud as to block out the outside world. The brunette was still in the half-dressed state that he managed to pull himself into before escaping from Pit’s god forsaken room, as though he didn’t wish to put in the effort to actually do any more other than sulk.   
  
Furrowing his brows in concern, Robin calmly walks to sit at the edge of the teen’s bed. He makes no effort to speak, knowing that he probably can’t be heard at the moment. Rather, he waits patiently for Yosuke to respond on his own terms. Through past experience with Shulk, and his own sister, he’s learned that he can’t force a conversation when someone is extremely upset. Instead, until he is addressed himself, he turns his attention from the brunette to content himself to the book in his hand.   
  
Thankfully for him, only a couple minutes of this silence passes before he hears the other’s music shut off (again, it possibly can’t be healthy to have that MP3 that loud) and he catches the headphones sliding off Yosuke’s ears out of the corner of his eye. The teen lifts his head just enough to make eye contact. If looks could kill Robin wouldn’t have lasted a second.   
  
“You’re not leaving.” Yosuke hisses through his teeth.   
  
Robin marks his place calmly before closing the book. “I’m aware. We need to have a talk.”   
  
“I’m not in the mood Robin-san. Get out of my room.”   
  
The mage stifles a laugh and smiles. Rather than leaving he opens his book once more. “I will leave after we talk. Until then, you may act as though I’m not here. I promise I will not say a word to you until you wish to hold a conversation.”   
  
A few minutes of tense silence follows. Robin does not make any motion to coax the teen into speaking. He holds to his word that he doesn’t speak until spoken too. Yosuke can feel his anger slowly die away until he’s left with an odd emptiness in his chest. Regret? Sadness? Fear? He couldn’t really place what it was he was feeling but he at least realized he wasn’t angry anymore. There was a lot for him to be angry about, but at the current moment he couldn’t find himself able to shout at Robin for just being there.   
  
“Ok…” Yosuke starts as he slowly moves so he’s not in a little ball. “I think I’m ready to talk.”   
  
One again Robin marks his place in the book before closing it and setting it aside. “Alright. Now, I will preface our discussion with this. I’m not going to force you to answer me. Answer on your terms.”   
  
Eye contact is broken as the teen bites his lip. He wasn’t sure what to expect any more. Clearly the mage isn’t here to exactly provide him with comfort. It almost feels like he’s attempting to interrogate him.   
  
“I just want to know.” Robin says as he crosses his legs. He pauses to take a breath so he doesn’t sound so angry. “What’s been troubling you exactly? This Mansion is a madhouse, but even I can tell you haven’t been in the best mood.”   
  
“What’s been _troubling_ me!?” Yosuke snapped. His fingers gripping the bed sheets tightly. “How about everything!? Ever since I’ve gotten here it’s been nothing but going downhill!”   
  
Robin unintentionally recoiled back at the outburst. He wasn’t expecting to be yelled at for a simple question. While he was usually pretty good at reading others, sometimes he just misspeaks and offends them. “What do you mean? How did this all start for you?”   
  
Angry tears started welling up at the sides of the brunette’s eyes. “It started with the fucking debt of course! What else do you think!? Then Phosphora-chan shocks the hell out of me! So I’m going to have an ugly scar on my arm for the rest of my life! Then there’s Pit-san!”   
  
The mage tilted his head a little. “I know he’s a little… out there at times, but compared to everything else that must be a minor issue.”   
  
“Minor issue!? I got fucked up the ass! And for what? Just barely enough payment to pay off the fucking debt! If I had any self-respect before I certainly lost that too!”   
  
Robin shook his head. “There has to be something that’s concerning you more than him.”   
  
Yosuke fell silent for a moment. “It’s been _four_. Damn. Days… That’s how long I’ve been out of contact with my friends. If anything, THAT has to be what’s bothering me the most.”   
  
Furrowing his brows in worry, Robin could see that was the truth. Yosuke was trying really hard to not cry in front of the tactician, but he just couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his cheeks.   
  
“I don’t…” The brunette choked out a sob. “I don’t even know if they’re aware Ted and I are gone… No emails… no phone calls… not even a single ‘are you ok’ text!” He he stopped again to wipe his eyes with the back of his arm. “I’m worried they forgot about us!”   
  
The two fall quiet after the response. Only Yosuke’s sobbing could be heard between the two before even that dies down. He looks up to meet Robin’s gaze with bloodshot eyes and a quivering bottom lip.   
  
“You…” One last sniffle. “You must think I’m acting like a child. Don’t you?”   
  
Quietly the tactician digs into his robe to dig out a handkerchief. He begins to speak as the cloth is handed off. “I don’t think you’re acting like a child at all. Pit is… quite an ass sometimes and he shouldn’t have taken advantage of your predicament.” He stops speaking to give a gentle, caring smile. “As for your friends. I’m very sure that they’re just as concerned about you as you are concerned about them. Even if they’re not here in the Smash World, they must be worried considering you just suddenly went missing.”   
  
A sigh. “You’re… you’re right. Yu and the others wouldn’t abandon me and Teddie. We’ve been there through it all since the beginning. They must be looking for us, even if we’re not in the same place. But… what about everything else…? Everything has still been screwed all to hell.”   
  
Robin’s smile grew a little wider. “I will admit Master Hand should have just written off your debt after that fight. He’s done it before. Especially since it’s my fault you didn’t get that last bit you needed.” He stops seeing the questioning look on the other’s face. “Anyway. As for your injury, I’m sure if you ask around for someone to heal it the scars won’t end up so terrible. Lucas, Peach, even Shulk would be willing to heal you.”   
  
Yosuke looks at the bandaging on his arm quietly. It was tearing and folding in places, and he forgot to change the dressings this morning when he got up. Any help with minimizing the damage would be spectacular to say the least. Though, he would feel guilty asking anyone to heal him unless he could pay for the services. He’s just barely coming out of the red and the last thing he wants to do right now is go back in.   
  
Yosuke shook his head. “I wouldn’t feel right asking them. I don’t have the money to pay them.”   
  
Robin furrowed his brows. “You… don’t have to pay them you know. I mean it. Shulk would happily help you, no questions asked.”   
  
The mage frowned as the brunette shook his head. Four days may not be a long time to some, but the system he’s had to follow is probably what’s troubling him. He’s had to expect payment for any service he’s given, and logically he feels he’d have to do the same in return. Robin feels sorry for him, as most of the Smashers are really nice and would offer anything for free. Lucas’ kindness towards Shulk during that week he couldn’t see was a prime example.   
  
Heavily sighing, Robin stood up from the bed. Without a word he dug into his robe once more and produced a small chest (no bigger than a small jewelry box at best). He took Yosuke’s uninjured hand and rested the chest in it. Taking the time to explain the box is the full payment Pit had promised in the first place, the mage smiles once more. He could see much of the worried look disappear from the brunette’s face before returning the smile.   
  
Robin turned to leave, but having to turn back due to forgetting to get his book. Before that though he glanced at the teen. “I’m going to let you have some space. If you need anything though, come look for me or Shulk.”   
  
Yosuke nodded as he held the box in his hand. “Thank you Robin-san.” 

* * *

  
About twenty minutes after leaving Yosuke’s room Robin is in the library contenting himself to a book of Jungian psychology. He had overheard Rosalina and Palutena discussing Yosuke’s performance yesterday and how he fits his role as ‘the Magician’. He had been curious over how his powers worked because he remembers hearing something about his psyche during that fight so he figured looking into psychology would help piece the puzzle together. Well, there really wasn’t any puzzle to piece together, Robin just wants to figure out how a normal teenage boy was able to conjure powerful wind from his mind . Ness and Lucas were one mystery that was solved quickly. Yosuke though? He emphasized he was normal, _‘just a teenager’_ as he said, and it just strikes the tactician as odd that he has such tremendous power.   
  
His search for answers is interrupted though by the sound of the library doors banging open. Before he could even react Shulk was racing up to him at a blinding speed. How he managed to stop without crashing was a miracle in of itself. Shulk looks like he was interrupted from repairing some machine or vehicle, being covered in oil and grease.   
  
“Have you seen Kuro at all today?” The blond asks quickly, out of breath from his run. “I had a vision.”   
  
Robin shakes his head. “Not since I got up. What happened?”   
  
“I… I saw him fighting.” Shulk pauses to focus on the vision. “He was fighting Yosuke. They were outside, in the rain. It didn’t look good. I think Kuro was about to die.”   
  
Another shake of the head, Robin clearly showing that he was worried now. “I haven’t seen him all morning. I saw Pit, but that was after my morning match. Yosuke is also hunkered down in his room. He… had a rough morning.”   
  
Shulk bites his lip and turns to run out of the library. He left out an entire part of his vision of seeing Yosuke die (or at least he thinks that’s what is going to happen) but that would be a moot point if he’s attacking Kuro. Prioritizing a friend’s life is above an enemy’s, even if they’re a person. He needs to get to the courtyard, and quickly. Robin will take a bit to follow, but he knows he’ll be there too. 

* * *

  
Kuro backflips several times before landing on his feet. Water splashes up around him from the puddles forming from the rain. He had just narrowly avoided being sliced open by Yosuke’s kunai. Except, the one he is facing isn’t the teen himself. The dark angel can tell the one he’s facing is similar to him. Repressed emotions and thoughts of an original person made manifest into an individual being. Their main differences? Well, right now all Kuro can see is that this copy of Yosuke has sinister, wild looking, gold eyes in comparison to his crimson. That, and this copy is obviously much more hostile.  
  
The Shadow laughs as he flips his kunai into the air before catching them. “Now THIS is entertaining! Another Shadow Self? That’s not something I get to face every day like this!”  
  
Kuro manages to shoot out a charge shot from his staff before Shadow Yosuke closes the distance again. “I’m not a Shadow! I’m Dark Pit, a person all my own!” He shouts before cartwheeling out of the way. “We don’t have to fight! We’re the same thing!”  
  
Shadow Yosuke grins maniacally as he tries to kick Kuro’s staff out of his hand, and fails. “We’re not one in the same you annoying little shit. I’m DJ! The true self of that pain in the ass Yosuke! There isn’t anything that’s the same between us!”  
  
Kuro barely manages to hang onto his weapon while blocking the knives. DJ is surprisingly strong, much stronger than his human self. “That’s what I mean! We’re the true feelings of someone else but we don’t have to fight each other! We need our other selves to exist!”  
  
The two continue going back and forth with their argument. Obviously the dark angel cannot hold his own too well. He’s a skilled ranged marksman, but his staff is not built to counter a pure melee fighter. His thoughts scream out to his twin to help him, there is no way he can handle DJ alone. Soon enough Kuro’s back pressed flush against the wall of the Smash Mansion. He’s cornered between the wall and the attacking Shadow.  
  
“Trust me! You don’t want to fight me!” Kuro shouts as he continues to press his staff against his opponent’s kunai. Brute strength can only carry him so far. “I can help you!”  
  
Help arrives soon enough though as a light blue arrow rockets between the combatant’s faces. The sudden attack causes DJ to leap backwards and glare in the direction the arrow came from. Golden eyes narrow menacingly as he spots the attacker. Pit has his bow drawn for another attack as he steps forward.  
  
“I don’t appreciate you attacking my twin.” The angel comments as he lets the arrow loose, cursing quietly as the Shadow dodges effortlessly. “I’m sure your twin wouldn’t like to see you hanging here around either.”  
  
DJ laughs as he spins a kunai around his finger. “You think I’ll listen to a fucker like you? You’re just as annoying as I am. Besides, what kind of person sides with his Shadow?” He turns to smirk at Kuro. “And what kind of pathetic Shadow sides with his original?”  
  
Pit glares down his opponent as Shulk and Robin arrive at the scene as well. Both males stand to either side of the angel. The blond has the Monado drawn and activated. Robin has his Thoron tome ready as well, prepared to charge.  
  
“What on Bionis?” Shulk asks. “Is there a second Yosuke or do I need my glasses?”  
  
Pit gently rests a hand on the Homs’ shoulder. “No, you’re seeing that right. That’s a second Yosuke. It’s his Shadow though, so don’t kill it. It needs to be alive for Yosuke’s sake.”  
  
Robin begins charging Thoron. “I see you changed your attitude since our talk. It’s surprising to hear you concerned over someone’s safety.”  
  
Pit doesn’t respond as he rushes towards DJ at full speed. Of course his attack misses as the Shadow leaps into the air over his head and lands right in front of Shulk and Robin. The angel takes this opportunity to make sure his twin is alright while the other two battle the Shadow.   
  
“You ok?” Pit asks seeing the other shaking like a leaf in the fall.  
  
Dark Pit turns his gaze to watch Robin and Shulk battle the Shadow with tears in his eyes. “I’m fine. I wish we didn’t have to fight though. He’s like me.”  
  
The older angel watches as DJ unleashes a powerful wind spell that knocks the two Smashers over. “I know Pittoo. He can’t stay though. We need to beat him and get Yosuke to accept him, no matter what he’s hiding.”  
  
Shulk manages to pick himself up after being knocked down. _“This isn’t going well. I’m hesitant to use my Arts now. Though, if push comes to shove I have to cut him down. That vision can’t come true.”_  
  
DJ laughs as Shulk starts charging at him ready to slash him with the Monado. Without even thinking he jumps backwards into the air as he inhales quickly. His chest puffed out as he placed his first two fingers near his mouth. Shulk has no time to react as the Shadow blows a mysterious green dust in his face before landing. The impact of the hit causes him to spin in circles to disorientate him. He can hear Robin call out to him but he can’t make head or tails of which way he’s facing or what’s in front of him.   
  
“Good thing I never forgot how to use that amazing move!” DJ snickers as he slowly walks backwards to watch Shulk try and find his footing and attack him. “I guess I’ll give myself props for that.  
  
Robin growls as he tucks his Thoron tome away for a second and focuses his energy into using the Levin sword. The lightning just barely misses hitting the Shadow. Damn the short range of his weaponry. He can’t use it again though as Shulk clumsily runs towards his opponent.  
  
DJ laughs as Shulk attempts to slash him once more but stumbles over his own feet. “God you guys are pathetic. Even the other Shadow and his dumb self don’t dare to challenge me.”  
  
“It’s because we can’t kill you!” Pit growls as he steps forward. “Why can’t you just state your piece so we know what’s going on!?”  
  
“You’re not the boss of me!”  
  
A sudden voice cuts through the arguing as a kunai flies past DJ’s ear. “Yeah. I want to know why you’re here too.”  
  
Shulk finally manages to regain his composure to join everyone in looking to see that Yosuke has finally shown his face. To say he looks pissed would be an understatement. There seemed to be some sort of angry fire in his eyes as he stared down his Shadow. Casually he flicks his wrist to cause a kunai to appear to replace the one he threw.  
  
DJ grins as he uses Wind of Oblivion to send Shulk flying into Robin. “Well look who decided to fucking show up. What took ya so long?”  
  
“Answer my damn question. Why did you come back, and how did you get out of the TV!?” Yosuke was ready to stab his own Shadow, regardless of the consequences.  
  
Rushing in to get in close for a clean hit, DJ replies as the kunai clash. “There’s an exit isn’t there? Unlike the rest of the dumbass Shadows I thought to use the damn thing.”  
  
Yosuke growls as he hops backwards. Susano-o’s ‘whispers’ warning him of what his Shadow planned to do. _“That’s right, the Shadow and my Persona are the same thing.”_ He ducked and rolled out of the way as he was told due to his Shadow going for his head and then downward slice. “You didn’t explain why you came back though! Besides, I still have my Persona! You _can’t_ exist!”  
  
“Fuck that noise!” The Shadow counters as he narrowly dodges his other self attempting a jumping kick. “I’m not your whole Persona dipshit! I’m _Jiraiya!_ ”  
  
“Just tell me why you’re here before I cut you down!”  
  
Shulk groans as he manages to get off of Robin. He wipes the last bit of the confusion dust from his eyes and blinks. Are his eyes still deceiving him? There _really_ is two Yosukes! And they’re fighting one another! The blond stands up quickly and grabs the hilt of the Monado as another vision hits him. This can’t be good.  
  
 _DJ and Yosuke are squaring off while arguing over the latter’s true inner thoughts. Yosuke appears to get hit with some sort of magic spell that causes a green shield structure to shatter around him. Whatever it was it seems to conflict with Yosuke’s natural wind affinity. Perhaps he becomes weak to it? Regardless DJ’s next attack is him causing a tornado to send his original flying and crashing into the ground, dizzy from the attack. The Shadow can be heard laughing as the vision cuts to Yosuke standing up only to be practically sliced and diced as his other self teleports around to attack him from multiple angles. This must be that part of his vision where he saw Yosuke die!_   
  
Snapping to attention Shulk practically throws the Monado down to help Robin stand up. “Robin! You need to do something! You have to stop the Shadow from attacking!”  
  
DJ perks to attention hearing the Homs’ warning. He glares as he temporarily shifts his focus from his original. “You know what. Shut the fuck up. Makajam!”  
  
Robin and Shulk both panic as the spell hits. The Silence kicks in right away as the blond found himself unable to speak. Even if he was able to nothing would happen.  
  
Pit stares down the Shadow seeing as he picked up that Shulk can’t effectively attack him without a voice. Without provocation he shoots an arrow towards DJ but angles it away from Yosuke after it misses. Even then he almost hit him due to the teen’s instinct to jump out of the way.  
  
“Robin! His weakness is electricity!” The angel shouts as he keeps shooting arrows to keep the Shadow distracted.  
  
The tactician nods as he brings out his Thoron tome to accompany his Levin Sword. “Time to tip the scales.”  
  
DJ laughs as he avoids the bolt of lightning cast down from the heavens. “You know, you clearly are an idiot Yosuke.” He snarks as he turns around. “Just think. If you accept me now, this fighting will stop. But I _know_ you’re not going to do that. You’re going to fight me to the bitter fucking end.”  
  
“What makes you say that!?” Yosuke dashes in with his kunai, aiming for the Shadow’s neck, barely avoiding getting hit by Robin’s Thoron. “Just talk already!”  
  
The Shadow manages to cartwheel away from both attacks and prepares to use Wind Break. “Fine. Let me tell you the truth you deny with your heart! This Mansion is a fucking _bore_! There’s nothing to do! And if I find something to do, it’s just because someone wants to fucking rip me off or they want my body. I’m a pretty doll that can be used in any way someone wants. And once I’m no longer useful I’ll either be thrown away or placed on a shelf and be forgotten!”  
  
Yosuke’s cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Was he really feeling that way? Of course, or his Shadow wouldn’t be taunting him. He growls as he sees a green shield shatter around him. There goes his Wind immunity. Why does his Shadow have full access to his powers while he can’t even summon Susano-o?  
  
“You already admitted you’re afraid your precious friends have gone and forgotten you even exist. Nothing’s changed in eight months, you’re still fucking terrified of being alone!”  
  
Yosuke freezes up as his Shadow grins maniacally, but makes no effort to attack. “T-That I know!” He stops, feeling himself shaking, seeing the scrutinizing gaze of Robin and the one of concern from Shulk. “I am scared of being alone! And it’s true this Mansion bores me! I’m treated like a tool! And I _hate_ it!”  
  
“Yet can we forget that fucking angel? He’s the worst offender of all of this.”  
  
Everyone, including the Shadow himself, turns to look at Pit. He questions what he did to catch a Shadow’s blame.  
  
DJ laughs as he spins his kunai around his finger again. “You know what you did. You used my body to forget your own fucking problems while I pretended you were someone else.”  
  
Yosuke’s face heats up more and his cheeks grow redder. “Sh-shut up! I-! He-!”  
  
The Shadow turns back around to grab the other’s rain soaked shirt by the collar. Laughing he presses a kunai to his neck. “You what? Are you afraid to accept the truth? The fact you _liked_ that fucking you got from the angel? Admit it! It felt _amazing_.”  
  
“I’m not admitting anything! I know I can’t deny you but I won’t admit anything!”  
  
“You’re the one that insisted I talked.” DJ laughed as he pulls his original closer, the blade touching both of their necks. He knows Robin won’t attack with the teen so close. "What about the fact the only person on your damn mind has been your _precious_ Yu? You’re jealous again! Not of him though, but that damn mage that can’t even properly comfort someone in need.”  
  
Robin narrows his eyes at the Shadow. Yosuke must have a lot of vendettas if even he’s being brought into the conversation. It is true though, he’s hesitant to attack with both males so close. The teen’s been shocked enough and that was enough to leave a scar. Who knows what a Thoron would do to him.  
  
“You’re so damn jealous that even that pathetic mage can snag himself a healthy relationship. And what are you stuck with? A man-whore. You can’t deny that if that other Wild Card shows up even your _precious_ partner will drop you without a second thought.”  
  
Yosuke snaps. “You’re lying! Yu would never do that! His past relationships don’t affect us now! So leave him out of this!”  
  
Robin growls as he attempts to control his anger. He really wants to shoot that Shadow now. No one has the right to call him pathetic. It may be true he’s lucky to have a steady relationship, but it’s not without it’s own problems.  
  
Realizing how dangerous the situation is getting he tucks the Thoron away in favor of getting Elthunder. He can probably guarantee not killing Yosuke if this one hits them both. The Shadow has removed the kunai from between the guys so he could start preparing his own wind spell. Robin focuses for a second before releasing the spell. Hopefully this hits.  
  
Thankfully DJ was so distracted with the prospect of utterly destroying his original self the that Elthunder managed to hit him and knock him over. The blow sent him a little ways away. Due to his deep rooted connection with the other though, even Yosuke ended up recoiling a little in pain from the attack. That didn’t stop him from making his way to the other though. Stumbling awkwardly he managed to reach his Shadow and pin him down with a forceful hand to the neck.  
  
DJ weakly chuckled as he saw Yosuke raise his kunai, like he was going to actually go for the kill. “I dare you.”  
  
Yosuke growled at his Shadow before letting the blade drop. “I would do it. But you’re part of me.” Instead of stabbing his other self he settled for a rough punch to the cheek. Even if he felt the sting too. “That’s for being a pain in the ass.”  
  
“Takes one to know one.”  
  
The Smashers around the two started to lower their guards as it appeared that the brunette seems to have reached a stalemate with his other self. Shulk and Robin noticed Teddie was arriving quite late to see what was going on. He had smelt the presence of a Shadow but he didn’t get here on time. The blond boy looked concerned as he clutched the umbrella in his hands tightly.  
  
“Yosuke… your Shadow came back?” He asked quietly as he approached.  
  
The brunette turned suddenly, but refused to release the Shadow, before looking guilty. “Yeah… sorry you have to see this again Ted.”  
  
Sheepishly Yosuke maneuvered himself to sit on his Shadow before briefly explaining what happened. He omits some details due to Teddie’s innocence before turning his head to look at DJ’s smug grin.  
  
Pit and the others walk up to the odd trio before he explains to Teddie why they were there helping Yosuke. The blond seems to understand but was more disappointed he didn’t get to help fight. He does get a good laugh though when Kuro offhandedly kicks DJ in the ribs and even Yosuke winces in pain.  
  


* * *

  
A few minutes passes by and the rain finally begins to let up for the time being. Teddie was kind enough to hand off his umbrella to Kuro so he doesn’t get sick from the rain. The blond himself wasn’t bothered by the cold due to his ice affinity, he just didn’t want his hair getting messed up. Within this time Pit has managed to tie up DJ with some rope that Robin questioned his possession of. Of course the Shadow wasn’t thrilled to be tied up and refused to stop talking.   
  
The sound of an engine cuts through the sound of the rain. Everyone turns their attention to see a bus pulling up in the distance. Pit shrugs and says that the bus is late today, so either it was slowed by the rain or Kiwi was driving today. He was unable to tell as he could barely make out six people getting off the vehicle in the first place. Instead of concerning himself with it he turns back to see Shulk concerning himself with healing Yosuke’s injured arm. The two were discussing the battle that just occurred.   
  
Shulk smiles as a faint blue light emitted from his hand transfers to the teen’s arm. “You should have come to me after leaving the infirmary. I can’t prevent scars but I’m sure they would look prettier if you didn’t wait so long.”   
  
“I know. I know.” Yosuke sighs as he watches as the Ether particles dance over his ruined bandages. Turning his head he catches a glimpse of a familiar face. “Yu!”   
  
Yu perks up immediately hearing his name being called. He never really left his dazed state the entire time he was on the bus but the familiar voice hit him. Yosuke is running up to him, and for sure he could see Teddie in the background. The leader’s feet started carrying him faster until he ended up running up to his partner and picking him up in a desperate hug. Yu’s momentum ending up canceling out as he spun the brunette in his arms. Surprised gasps from the rest of the Investigation Team, as well as the Smashers behind Yosuke, could be heard as the two embraced.   
  
“Do you have _any_ clue how worried I was I’d never see you again!?” Yosuke asked desperately as he held his partner’s face in his hands once his feet were back on the ground.   
  
Yu’s face heated up in embarrassment. “Sorry. We got lost in the city. We were looking _everywhere_ for you and Teddie.”   
  
The two separate from the hug when Yosuke caught the awkward stares of the rest of his friends. He’s a little flustered but tries to play it off quickly. Yukiko looks like she’s about to collapse to the ground in her vain attempt of containing laughter, while Rise almost looks jealous of the two boys. Everyone else is just confused.   
  
In the background Pit is heard yelling. “You already had the dramatic hug. Are you going to kiss or what?”   
  
Yosuke and Yu stiffen before they turn to look at the angel, horrified.   
  
Robin scratches his face. “You… are dating right?”   
  
The brunette laughs nervously as he puts his hands up in defense. “N-n-no! No, no, no! I’m just really happy to see my partner again.”   
  
Yu nods quietly in agreement. Though, this argument is almost destroyed immediately once DJ speaks up. He calls Yosuke a liar and demands he just kiss the leader already. The entire Investigation Team stops their previous thoughts to see the Shadow bound on the ground while Yosuke attempts to explain why he’s there. Well, at least explain as much as he can without incriminating himself too much. Of course Yu is the first to question why DJ is there while Pit uses his scarf to silence the being.   
  
Yosuke sighs as he goes to explain. “Some… problems have come up while I was here. I don’t want to talk about it with everyone here. Especially since Pit-san is responsible for a small chunk of my insecurities.”   
  
Naoto nods her head. “It’s understandable Yosuke-senpai. Your first encounter with your Shadow was solely between you and Yu-senpai.”   
  
“Yeah, I’d like to keep my Shadow stuff between me and my best friend if that’s how it was in the first place too.” Chie adds.   
  
Yosuke smiles. “Thanks guys. I’m glad to see you’re all together. I know I was panicking over being separated from Yu, but just imagine if any of you were missing yet.”   
  
Everyone stops talking once they hear someone clear their throat. Shulk smiles sheepishly and asks if everyone would be willing to follow him. As Master Hand is still in the process of connecting their two worlds, the rest of the Investigation Team is going to need somewhere to stay. Unless they want to venture all the way back to the city of course. Yu didn’t even need to consult his team to see they were all up to the idea of staying in one place until they can leave. Kanji is instructed to carry the hapless DJ as well so Master can figure out what to do with him for the time being.   
  
As the team makes their way inside, Yosuke starts to explain what had happened with him. Including talking about why he has bandages on his arms once Yu showed intense concern towards his injury. He and Teddie explain the debt from the broken TV, and how the Smashers have been mixed in terms of how they’ve been treating the two. Chie would have gotten a kick out of Yosuke’s misery, but even she felt bad for him considering none of this was his fault. Yukiko offers a comforting hand and Naoto merely makes a mental note to file a complaint about her friend’s harsh treatment. 

* * *

  
At the end of the day Yu finds himself sharing Yosuke’s room with the latter and Teddie. He didn’t complain at all, he is rather grateful that his partner even requested the two of them stay together. Naoto had been paired off with Kanji, and the rest of the girls were going to share a room. Teddie had wanted to share with the girls, but of course Yosuke vetoed the idea (so had the girls but that’s beside the point).   
  
Yosuke is sitting on his partner’s lap as they talked about what had happened since they had gotten separated. He had removed his clothes much earlier and wrapped himself in a housecoat much earlier so he wouldn’t get cold from standing in the rain this afternoon. The bandages on his arm were also lovingly changed by Yu’s careful hands. Of course the injury was still and open mess, but at least the treatment will make them less of an eyesore once the scars heal.   
  
“Why didn’t you call me?” Yosuke asked as he dusted his lips over Yu’s jaw. “Or text me? Something to let me know you were worried.”   
  
Yu tilted his head to the side to allow access to his neck. “I tried Yosuke. I promise. There wasn’t any cell service, so I tried sending emails. You never replied.”   
  
Quietly Yosuke stops peppering his boyfriend’s neck with kisses and pulls back. “I… never got those emails.”   
  
Yu frowns slightly, upset at the revelation. He can see the other is just as upset. They both tried to contact one another out of mutual worry. Yet, this was the first time in almost five days they’ve been able to actually converse. They sit in silence for a little bit. The leader can obviously see Yosuke is just as upset as he is over this. So, he does the only thing he can think of to make him feel better. Kiss him.   
  
Thankfully Yosuke responds as expected. A little shocked, but melts into the kiss without protest. Their lips move in sync before Yu let’s his partner push him back on the bed. Experience has taught him that he enjoys when he let’s Yosuke take control. Quiet gasps escape his mouth as the two make-out passionately. Yu lets out a small moan as well as a hand traces down his side before moving under his shirt.   
  
Yosuke pulls back with a cocky look. He loves looking at Yu when he’s coming undone under his touch. Nothing could ruin this moment.   
  
Except Teddie coming into the room singing loudly. Yeah, there went the mood.   
  
Thankfully the bear didn’t see Yosuke getting off Yu while the latter sat up and pressed a pillow between his legs. He was more content drying his hair before seeing the two. Cheerfully Teddie bounds over to where Yu is sitting and bounces on the bed.   
  
“Sensei!” He cheers as he kicks his legs into the air, disregarding his current state of hardly dressed. “Did you meet any cute girls in the city!? Did you like it there!? Did you miss me?!”   
  
Yosuke pouts and sighs before sauntering over to the other bed. Yu noticed his change in attitude immediately while he answered Teddie’s numerous questions. He watches his partner collapse onto the sheets with his back to turned to them. It takes a little bit for Teddie to notice his brother on the other bed sleeping.   
  
“Was he like this all day?” Yu asks quietly.   
  
Teddie puffs out his lower lip in thought. “I don’t know. We didn’t really see each other this morning… I think he’ll be back to his normal self tomorrow! Sensei’s here after all!”   
  
A small laugh. “You’re right Teddie. I think we should let him sleep. We can share this bed.”   
  
The blond nods before crawling to the other side of the bed and sprawling out his limbs. Yu smiles gently before turning to look at Yosuke again. He wasn’t quite asleep yet.   
  
“Night.” Yu says as he lays down. He can just barely hear his partner’s response before falling asleep. At least they can both rest easy now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as wordy as the last one but I swear I have reasons!
> 
> 1\. What Yu is thinking is an allusion to what basically happens during P4DAN. Without going too into the plot, because Yu and the team went two days without contacting Dojima he started looking into their disappearance like it was the cases back in Inaba the previous year. Basically here it’s just him almost tempting fate? Since it hasn’t happened yet at this point?
> 
> 2\. If you didn’t pick it up, the Huniepop girls of today were Momo and Jessie. Momo’s master will remain anonymous since it’s the player.
> 
> 3\. It may seem odd that Yu is spacing out in the early part, but considering that the IT were plucked right out from December, I’m merely trying to convey that he’s a little broken inside. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll spare you the spoilers and just say that he’s just facing a little separation anxiety since his closest friend has just gone off the radar and during the time point this is in, Yosuke is one of the few things keeping him together, so he’s worried but broken. There’s also the goings on in the game itself in November.
> 
> 4\. The entire segment between Pit and Yosuke is based on a vote I held right when I started this. The top answer had been the forced crossdressing, but the second most voted was him “selling his body”. So really it’s because of you guys (or at least my tumblr) that that segment exists. You AO3 guys got the extended cut as well because I don’t want to risk it on FF.net
> 
> 5\. The Persona games (At least 3 and 4) are heavily rooted in Jungian psychology, so that’s why Robin picked up that specific book to try and figure out why Yosuke has powers like he does. While specifically Palutena was talking about Yosuke’s Arcana (fourth wall breaking allows her to know), there is also an Archetype called the same thing. In terms of the context that Robin may be looking at, it can still apply. As this Magician is has a description that says he “gets his power from another level of reality”, which, essentially what the Midnight Channel and his Persona are. (Now keep in mind, “Shadows” and “Persona” are actual terms too! :D)
> 
> 6\. I like to imagine that Kuro and DJ are very similar due to being carbon copies of Pit and Yosuke respectively as well as representing all the emotions and thoughts their originals like to deny or they repressed. The main difference though is that Kuro was created by the Mirror of Truth and thus cannot exist without Pit, but Pit can still exist without him. On the contrary Yosuke and DJ can’t exist without each other. Yosuke has to be alive in order for his psyche to even manifest period, while DJ needs to be alive in the respect that he is a VITAL part of Yosuke and without him he falls into Apathy Syndrome and simply ceases to function.


	5. The Reversed Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I'm so sorry this took so long to finish! Thankfully this chapter is short and sweet.

**July 22, 2015**  
  
The last two days of the week were fairly uneventful despite the arrival of the Investigation Team. Some of the Smashers did take a liking to them, and many of them noticed the improvement in Yosuke’s attitude now that his friends were back. Peach absolutely adored Kanji and was more than pleased to let him help out with her clothes making. The two spent much of their time in her room sewing clothes and making designs. There was also some spare yarn she didn’t ever really use that Kanji picked up right away to make knit dolls. He seemed flustered to admit it, but he was making the dolls so the children wouldn’t think he was a big, scary brute.  
  
On the flipside, Peach was very iffy about Chie, Yukiko, and Rise. It wasn’t even two hours into their arrival before she and Mama found out just how horrible of cooks they were. So bad in fact that not only did Mama kick them out with a rolling pin in hand, but they were also banned from ever entering without supervision. They were nice enough girls at least and seemed to get along with other residents very well, especially the other female fighters. In particular though Chie was found often sparring with Ryu and Little Mac on their off time (she was better at taking Mac’s punches than Yosuke anyway).  
  
Zelda, Shulk, and Robin’s son Morgan all took an extreme liking to Naoto due to her calm demeanor and intelligence. Naoto often spoke with Shulk due to their related interest in machinery and their components. She also took heavy interest in the difference between Homs and humans as there are many biological differences. The two spent much of their time in the library or garage as they had their discussions, often trading notes and having casual talks.  
  
Finally, Yu was often with some of the younger Smashers as he enjoyed being around kids. He took a particular liking to Kuro, despite his insistence he wasn’t a child, and the two often talked while folding paper cranes. Their major topics tended to be about their mutual love of cute things. Kuro had gotten interested in the story about folding a thousand paper cranes as well and wanted to make them himself. He was still shaky with the folds, but was starting to get the hang of it. When Yu asked about the interest in the story, Kuro’s only reply was that he had a particular wish he wanted granted.  
  
Yosuke had spent much of the two days wandering around the manor as he was still recovering from his battle with Falcon, as well as his own Shadow. He was slowly getting back to the Yosuke his friends know and love though. To which, he was ok with that as it meant some normalcy was returning. 

* * *

In the last hours of the seventh day Master Hand calls the Investigation Team, as well as the still bound DJ, to the Game Room where the original TV had been. Before the group was a shiny new flatscreen, not unlike the one that was there before it. Desmond had a proud grin on his face as he gestured to the device.  
  
“Ladies and gentlemen.” He starts. “I have finally set up the proper connection back to Inaba. All you have to do is crawl through this television and you will be sent straight back to your timeline and your original destination. With this, you will be able to come and go freely. Given the Midnight Channel so chooses to let you arrive here.”  
  
Everyone starts smiling at the prospect of finally going home. Especially Yosuke and Teddie as they had been the ones that had the hardest time here in the Mansion. Yu lays a comforting hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder and reminds him that he’s the reason they get to go home, hopefully making him feel a little less self conscious.  
  
Before everyone got too excited; however, Desmond clears his throat to continue explaining. “Due to the discrepancy that would be caused by you all being from a year that has long since passed in this world, your memories of this place will have to be sealed. The memories of your time in the Margin World will also be resealed like they were previously.”  
  
Everyone’s faces fell a bit. A couple whispers are heard throughout the group about what that would mean. There are some things about this place that they don’t want to forget. Or there is just some reluctance to let certain memories go away again. A necessary evil must be committed for them to go home. Yosuke though steps up to ask a couple questions.  
  
“When you say our memories of this world will be sealed…” He stops and looks at his Shadow Self standing off to the side quietly. “Does that mean _he_ will go away?”  
  
“That is what it would mean, correct.” Master Hand doesn’t seem to show remorse about what could possibly happen to DJ.  
  
Yosuke freezes and turns to stare at his golden eyed doppleganger. “But… I don’t really want him to drive me crazy. Just because my memories are sealed doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. I need to deal with him on my own.”  
  
Chie gives her friend a concerned look. “Yosuke…”  
  
“Yosuke, you can’t stay here though.” Yu adds. “You need to come home with us. We’ll be even more worried when you’re not with us back in Inaba.”  
  
“I know!” He stops and stares at the floor. “I just think remembering and forgetting all the time will make it harder to accept _him_ … to accept myself.”  
  
Chie rests her hand on Yosuke’s other shoulder. “Maybe… maybe we should leave him here? He can’t bother you if he’s not around.”  
  
Yu nods. “We don’t really know if we’ll ever come back anyway.”  
  
Master Hand looks amongst the group before asking if that is their final decision. Yosuke nods saying that with his memories sealed he wouldn’t remember what he was insecure about, and leaving DJ here would prevent him from causing more mayhem, or going berserk by being denied. Desmond rests a hand to his chin as he contemplates what he would have to do himself. He assures the Investigation Team that his Smashers would be able to handle a rogue Shadow, as there are other evil doers wandering around. He recalls Kuro taking a particular shining to DJ due to them being extremely similar.  
  
“I will inform Master Kuro of your choice to allow the Shadow to stay here in my Mansion. I will warn you though, if he becomes too violent we will have to either lock him up like Nightmare or Metal Face, or destroy him.” Desmond sternly adds.  
  
Yosuke furrows his brow a little. “Ok… whatever you guys have to do.”  
  
“Thank you Hand-sama.” Yu adds with a firm handshake. “We’ll be on our way.”  
  
The rest of the Investigation Team follows their leader as he steps into the TV. Yosuke is the second to go through, tightly gripping his partner’s hand, and the rest follow suit in respective pairs. Master Hand watches intently as Teddie and Rise are the last to crawl into the TV before he turns his attention to DJ.  
  
“I do hope you enjoy your stay.” Desmond adds before he walks away to fetch Kuro. ****  
**  
** ****

* * *

****  
**December 9, 2011** ****  
****  
Much like their fall into the Smash world, the Investigation Team found themselves practically flying out of the TV and onto the floor of Junes. Chie is the first to speak up praising some higher power for them landing back home. It was rare for any of them to be thankful for the department store, but they were just happy to be back.  
  
Yukiko and Naoto are the first to stand up after the awkward landing. Kanji follows suit once Teddie and Rise get off his back. The remaining three stand up slowly and look back at the TV as the ripples fade away.  
  
Chie stretches her neck. “Man, it feels like we’ve been gone for a whole week! I’m ready to head to bed. I don’t like that Magatsu Inaba place.”  
  
Rise checks the time on her phone. “It is pretty late. Wasn’t it the afternoon when we went in? Oh well, we should be getting home if that’s the case.”  
  
“We should take a couple days to recuperate.” Naoto adds as she grasps the brim of her hat and hides her face to yawn. “Adachi-san will still be there when we return. We mustn’t push ourselves.”  
  
Yu nods. “Everyone did great today. We’ll meet back at our usual table Sunday morning. Until then, get some rest.”  
  
Everyone nods and start to walk off. Several goodnights are said and soon it is just Yu and Yosuke left.  
  
“Something wrong partner?” The leader asks as he sees Yosuke staring at the bandages on his left arm.  
  
The brunette closes his eyes. “I feel like I’m forgetting something important. Like, when did I injure my hand like this? You don’t carry bandages with you anyway.”  
  
“That’s a good question, and if it was in the TV Yukiko could have just healed it.” Yu gently rests his forehead against Yosuke’s lovingly. “I’ll take care of it though. Can you stay the night again?”  
  
“Of course partner.”  
  
The two turn to start walking towards the empty Dojima residence for the night hand in hand. Both are happy to have made it home safely, and together.


End file.
